Robbie Love Paul Baker Introduction The context of the study research questions and literature Paul Method Robbie Keywords analysis Paul Collocates analysis Robbie Homphobic words and conclusion Paul ID: 1044623
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1. "Homosexuals are delightful, artistic and loving people": A diachronic corpus-assisted comparison of "no" speeches on gay rights debates in the UK ParliamentRobbie LovePaul Baker
2. IntroductionThe context of the study, research questions and literature (PaulMethod (Robbie)Keywords analysis (Paul)Collocates analysis (Robbie)Homphobic words and conclusion (Paul)
3. Context : the love that dare not speak its name1998-2000 – debate on Bill to change the Age of Consent (AoC) for gay men to 16 (Tony Blair’s Labour government)2013 – debate on Bill to allow Same Sex Marriage (SSM)Both bills passed although both seen as controversial:AOC Bill rejected by House of Lords 3 times, requiring lower house to use Parliament Act to pass BillSSM Bill passed but negative attitudes widely reported in mediaEvidence that homophobic attitudes are less popular (always/mostly wrong = 40.7% in 2000 vs 28% in 2013) British Social Attitudes Surveys.
4. Research QuestionsIn what ways did language change (or not) between the two sets of debates in terms of a) anti-equality arguments b) representations of gay people
5. Relevant LiteratureAs societies change, Mills (1998: 247-8) points to more subtle and indirect manifestations of sexist discourse that can be more difficult to identify and challenge requiring a more in-depth and critical form of analysis.Kitzinger (2005) used CA to show how disclosure of gay identity was implicitly marked as problematic while heterosexual identities were taken-for-granted disclosures.Chirrey (2003) The coming-out of Will Young, marked in newspaper discourse by sensational language such as admits, frank admission, secret and in hiding.Baker (2005) focus on AoC debate – keywords to compare the 2 sides. Anti-side used historical terminology “gross indecency”, “buggery”. Bachmann (2011) focus on 2004 Civil Partnership debate – also keywords (5 standpoints) comparisons to opposite-sex relationships, thin end of wedge, good/bad for society.
6. Corpus dataHouse of Commons and House of Lords debatesLate 1990s/early 2000s – Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill2013 – Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill*www.parliament.uk/business/publications/hansard/LGBT-opposition corpus188,025 wordsAOC corpus SSM corpus124,024 words 63,983 wordsTranscripts retrieved online* (not transcribed by us)Cleaned, oppositional speech isolated, speakers identifiedData = only the speech of those who voted against the Bills
7. Corpus data: AOC TopicDateLength in tokens Age of Consent (AOC) corpus (1998-2000) House of Commons1st attempt: Second Reading22nd June 19986,6732nd attempt: Second Reading25th January 199913,9502nd attempt: consideration of clause 110th February 199914,2242nd attempt: Third Reading1st March 19995,1023rd attempt: Second Reading10th February 200012,094House of Lords1st attempt: rejection22nd July 199812,0632nd attempt: Second Reading (rejection)13th April 199928,1563rd attempt: Second Reading (rejection)11th April 200018,4493rd attempt: Resolution to Committee13th November 200013,331TOTAL 124,042
8. Corpus data: SSM TopicDateLength in tokens Same-Sex Marriage (SSM) corpus (2013)House of CommonsSecond Reading5th February 201322,331Third Reading21st May 20132,750House of LordsSecond Reading3rd-4th June 201337,539Third Reading15th July 20131,363TOTAL 63,983
9. Tools and ProceduresCorpus analysis tool: AntConc (Anthony 2011)Initial approach = corpus-drivenIdentified salient lexical itemsKeywords used to compare the corpora to each other (see Baker 2006: 125) Supplementary analysis = corpus-basedExamined LGBT-related words chosen by us as relevantFrequency-based disambiguationCollocation – common patterns of co-occurrenceAll subjected to concordance analysis to interpret findings
10. KeywordsTwo sides of the debates compared against each other to identify keywords (words which are statistically more frequent in one side when compared to the other).Log-likelihood measure used.We focussed on the top 40 most significant keywords (enough to elicit arguments and repetitions of findings)
11. Table of top Keywords Age of ConsentSame Sex MarriageRelating to topicage, consent, anal, intercourse, activity, buggery, lowering, acts, reduction marriage, civil, same, partnerships, institution, union, Marriage, traditional, sex, married, partnership, marriagesRelating to procedureAmendment, hon, Member, Young, clause, report, amendmentBill, legislation, Prime, Dear, consultation, process, stateRelating to identityhomosexual, homosexuality, young, boys, girls, men, year, olds, people, older, boy, adults, couples, womanOther conceptsmoral, health, abuse, advice, trust, protection, medical, AIDS, HIV, vulnerable consummation, faith, church, commitment, love, change, religious, create, society, definition, redefinition, redefine, meaning, forcedGrammaticalhe, I, But, under been, this, and, has
12. Age of Consent keywordsArgument 1: homosexuality is immoral: a violation of a moral code.Argument 2 : gay people do disgusting and unnatural things: Emphasis on anal sex as a practice, danger and indulgence. Similarly, buggery is ‘an unnatural, unsanitary and dangerous act’, ‘pathological’, ‘the abominable crime’, and a ‘dangerous practice’.Argument 3: gay sex is unhealthy (‘run the risk of AIDS’, ‘frightening health risks’)Argument 4: girls and boys are different so shouldn’t have the same laws, boys are less mature and vulnerable and need protection from predatory gay men lest they be ‘ruined for life’Argument 5: the current law already allows equality as the age of consent for anal intercourse is 18 for boys and girlsNotable: the keyword I (collocates with: repeat, suspect, hope, wonder, conclude, intend, believe, regret, agree, quote, welcome, understand, think, remember).
13. Same Sex Marriage keywordsArgument 1: The procedure was wrong: The consultation process was ‘a sham’ and seriously deficient’. It asked how to change the law not whether the law should change, pro-equality comments of ‘dubious origin’ while anti-equality all from ‘uniquely identified individuals’. Also no mandate for Bill.Argument 2: The religious freedom of the faith community will be compromised as they will be forced to conduct same sex marriage.Argument 3: We can’t redefine marriage as it’s between a man and a woman.
14. gay* and homosexual*Lemma searches for gay and homosexual, using wildcard symbol (*) to retrieve every morphological form with the base gay or homosexual Addressed by Baker (2005) and Bachmann (2011)Change in word frequency as a whole across corporaand disambiguation
15. Proportion of gay* and homosexual*
16. homosexual*: frequency disambiguation AOC corpus (1998-2000)SSM corpus (2013) raw%raw%% changeLL of change between whole corporaadjectivehomosexual3770.30290.05-0.26167.21**nounhomosexuality1160.0990.01-0.0851.21**nounhomosexuals890.07130.02-0.0524.24**nounhomosexual120.0110.00-0.015.09*nounhomosexualism50.0000.000.004.16*adverbhomosexually40.0000.000.003.33adjectivehomosexualist10.0000.000.000.83* = p < 0.05 ; ** = p < 0.0001
17. homosexual* quotes: AOCFirst, I regard homosexualism, certainly lifelong homosexualism, as a sad disorder and handicap(The Earl of Longford, 13 November 2000)There is another motive, however. There is a homosexualist agenda. The homosexual community, by its nature, is sterile, and it can survive and grow only by proselytising(Mr Swayne, 1 March 1999)
18. gay*: frequency disambiguation AOC corpus (1998-2000)SSM corpus (2013) raw%raw%% changeLL of change between whole corporaadjectivegay1010.08610.100.010.93noungays60.0040.010.000.15noungayness20.00 0.000.001.66noungay10.00 0.000.000.83
19. gay* quotes: AOC and SSMI have met representatives of Stonewall, mothers of gay sons and representatives of young gays and lesbians, and I have listened carefully to their views. But at the end of the day I believe that in public life one must stand up for those things which one believes to be right(Baroness Young, 13 April 1999)In 2004 we passed the Civil Partnership Act […]. The interests of lesbians and gays were addressed comprehensively. No one at that time, eight or nine years ago, suggested that there should be the kind of legislation that we have before us now.(Lord Brennan, 4 June 2013)
20. Identity vs. BehaviourAssociation with identity becomes strongerAssociation with behaviour becomes (much) weaker AOC corpus (1998-2000)SSM corpus (2013) raw%raw%LL of change between whole corporahomosexual/gay as identity1690.14490.0813.90*homosexual/gay as behaviour3090.25410.0692.62**
21. CollocatesHow have the contexts in which gay* and homosexual* occurred changed between the two sets of debates?
22. Collocates of homosexual*AOC corpus (1998-2000)SSM corpus (2013) CollocateFreq. MICollocateFreq. MI1adoption57.83885rights58.498072acts467.54406people77.427113heterosexuality87.41739about67.022024heterosexuals107.32428was56.440885marriages57.18678marriage96.058496lobby97.17228are55.857627consenting67.10189and205.820668heterosexual467.07966a135.538839homosexualism77.00235not75.4992110activity346.98548of195.41878
23. AOC: sexual behavioursAOC corpus (1998-2000)SSM corpus (2013) CollocateFreq. MICollocateFreq. MI1adoption57.83885rights58.498072acts467.54406people77.427113heterosexuality87.41739about67.022024heterosexuals107.32428was56.440885marriages57.18678marriage96.058496lobby97.17228are55.857627consenting67.10189and205.820668heterosexual467.07966a135.538839homosexualism77.00235not75.4992110activity346.98548of195.41878
24. AOC: sexual behavioursIf, on the other hand, the origins of homosexuality are more complex, we may be right to see homosexual activity and acts of buggery as pathological(Lord Ashbourne, 13 April 1999)The word activity does not occur at all in the SSM corpus!
25. AOC: heterosexualityAOC corpus (1998-2000)SSM corpus (2013) CollocateFreq. MICollocateFreq. MI1adoption57.83885rights58.498072acts467.54406people77.427113heterosexuality87.41739about67.022024heterosexuals107.32428was56.440885marriages57.18678marriage96.058496lobby97.17228are55.857627consenting67.10189and205.820668heterosexual467.07966a135.538839homosexualism77.00235not75.4992110activity346.98548of195.41878
26. AOC: heterosexualityThose who support the amendment say that they demand equality before the law for homosexual acts. But there is no equality between heterosexual and homosexual behaviour. One is the natural order of things; the other is not(Lord Stoddart of Swindon, 22 June 1998)
27. SSM: grammatical wordsAOC corpus (1998-2000)SSM corpus (2013) CollocateFreq. MICollocateFreq. MI1adoption57.83885rights58.498072acts467.54406people77.427113heterosexuality87.41739about67.022024heterosexuals107.32428was56.440885marriages57.18678marriage96.058496lobby97.17228are55.857627consenting67.10189and205.820668heterosexual467.07966a135.538839homosexualism77.00235not75.4992110activity346.98548of195.41878
28. SSM: homosexuals are…This Bill ignores a fact well understood for centuries: marriage is not about just love. Of course, homosexuals are often very delightful, artistic and loving people. No one doubts that for one single moment. However, marriage is not about just love. It is about a man and a woman, themselves created to produce children, producing children.(Baroness Knight, 3 June 2013)
29. Collocates of gay*AOC corpus (1998-2000)SSM corpus (2013) CollocateFreq.MICollocateFreq.MI1clubs510.26226community98.395882lesbian59.58419said65.59593community138.79277would65.158844rights77.4549marriage225.11775gay1147.30449gay635.102576men95.82485people64.974427against65.62805who74.812768young195.59132or64.612659people255.53325The54.0744710sex75.43299in143.65208
30. AOC: grouping (gay) peopleAOC corpus (1998-2000)SSM corpus (2013) CollocateFreq.MICollocateFreq.MI1clubs510.26226community98.395882lesbian59.58419said65.59593community138.79277would65.158844rights77.4549marriage225.11775gay1147.30449gay635.102576men95.82485people64.974427against65.62805who74.812768young195.59132or64.612659people255.53325The54.0744710sex75.43299in143.65208
31. AOC: grouping (gay) peopleHowever, in the gay community sexuality seems to matter almost totally. There are gay clubs, gay bars, the gay press, gay this and gay that, and it is not healthy(Jamie Cann, 25 January 1999)If what is offered to young gay men is promiscuous, narrowly physical relationships or membership of an overt community defined by gayness, it will be all the more difficult for them to live faithful, broader-based lives, to their full humanity. (The Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells, 25 January 1999)I hope that although many of us may disagree with the Government's proposal, we shall not be regarded as antagonistic to the homosexual gay community, because that is not our intention(Sir Normal Fowler, 10 February 1999)
32. SSM: grouping (gay) peopleAOC corpus (1998-2000)SSM corpus (2013) CollocateFreq.MICollocateFreq.MI1clubs510.26226community98.395882lesbian59.58419said65.59593community138.79277would65.158844rights77.4549marriage225.11775gay1147.30449gay635.102576men95.82485people64.974427against65.62805who74.812768young195.59132or64.612659people255.53325The54.0744710sex75.43299in143.65208
33. SSM: communityThe equality that it purports to seek is a cheapened version of spurious uniformity in glaring defiance of reality. Our gay community, talented and caring, deserves better and can have it(Lord Quirk, 3 June 2013)
34. SSM: peopleMy Lords, we have just had a telling and detailed explanation of the road that we have travelled in getting equality for lesbian, gay and gender-transmuted people.(The Duke of Montrose, 4th June 2013)gender-transmutedGoogle = only 25 hits (10 from this quote alone) (February 2014)
35. Terms relating to homophobia Freq. AOC% AOCFreq. SSM% SSM% changeLL of change between corporahomophob*200.02320.05+0.0316.33***bigot*130.01250.04+0.0315.89***intoleran*100.0190.0101.44prejudice*240.0290.01-0.010.70discriminat*600.05410.06+0.011.89Total1270.101160.18+0.0819.37**** p < 0.0001
36. Homphobia- changesAge of Consent: “I am not homophobic in any way. I do not dislike or hate people of a different sexual orientation from the normal, so long as they are adult and know what they are doing. It is not a question of homophobia; it is a question of people having a differing view.” (Lord Stoddart of Swindon, July 22, 1998)Same Sex Marriage: “It is intolerable, however, that as soon as Members of Parliament put their heads above the parapet and speak to the media, they are called a homophobe, a Nazi - I have been called that a bigot, and many other expletives that I would not dare to read out. I have been told to be ashamed of myself, and to die: I have received specific death threats relating to my travel plans. I have been told that I am a disgrace, and that I have no right to express my opinion on this subject. My children have been told that their dad is a bigot and a homophobe.” Mr Burrowes, 5 February 2013
37. ConclusionAge of Consent debate: more openly homophobic discourse, gay men as predatory, gay sex as unnatural, unhealthy, immoral; homosexualism/homosexualist.Same Sex Marriage debate: careful not to attack gay people, use of mitigation strategies (although backfire as stereotyping), focus on procedural issues, less likely to personalise position with ‘I’, debaters appropriate discourse by positioning themselves as victims of intolerance.In light of changes to public attitudes, homophobia is the hate that dare not speak its name. Discourses do not match act of voting indicating need for greater vigilance and reliance on social context in analysis.
38. ReferencesAnthony, Laurence. 2011. AntConc (Version 3.2.4w) [Computer Software]. Tokyo, Japan: Waseda University. Available from http://www.antlab.sci.waseda.ac.jp/Bachmann, Ingo. 2011. “Civil partnership – ‘Gay marriage in all but name’: A corpus-driven analysis of discourses of same-sex relationships in the UK Parliament.” Corpora 6(1): 77-105. Baker, Paul. 2005. Public Discourses of Gay Men. London: Routledge.Baker, Paul. 2006. Using Corpora for Discourse Analysis. London: Continuum.Chirrey, Deborah 2003. “‘I hereby come out’: What sort of speech act is coming out?” Journal of Sociolinguistics, 7(1): 24-37Kitzinger, Celia. 2005 “‘Speaking as a heterosexual’: (how) does sexuality matter for talk-in-interaction?” Research on Language and Social Interaction 38 (3): 221–65.Mills, S. (1998) ‘Post-feminist text analysis’, Language and Literature 7(3): 235–53.