At queere flersprogethed og migration

Milani, Tommaso; Mortensen, Kristine Køhler; Levon, Erez (2021). At queere flersprogethed og migration. Språk och stil, 31(1), pp. 201-229. Uppsala University Library 10.33063/diva-434156

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This article seeks to partly redress the ways in which sexuality has been overlooked in multilingualism scholarship, especially in the Nordic countries. We do so by queering multilingualism in contexts of migration in two seemingly different contexts, Denmark and Israel, which however share a commonality: they are both widely recognized as ‘liberal’ countries with regard to sexuality. Through analysis of an eclectic corpus of data encompassing news reports, educational material and documentaries, we illustrate problematic language ideological ties that link certain languages – Danish and Hebrew – to notions of sexual liberation and freedom while associating other languages such as Arabic with intolerance and sexual backwardness. We also show the existence of sexual double standards: Denmark has a self-perception as being a nation that safeguards sexual tolerance. However, there are compulsory courses in Danish sexual morality for migrants. Taught in Danish, these courses are based on the belief that there are special rules for sexuality, which migrants must learn to demonstrate that that they ‘fit in’. Similarly, Israel has important legislation that recognizes the rights of sexual minorities and has succeeded in marketing itself as an attractive LGBT tourist destination. However, this alleged paradise of sexual liberation is not equally accessible to all who identify as queer. Paradoxically, queer Palestinian men from the West Bank are forced to hide themselves in the gay bubble, Tel Aviv.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

06 Faculty of Humanities > Other Institutions > Walter Benjamin Kolleg (WBKolleg) > Center for the Study of Language and Society (CSLS)

UniBE Contributor:

Levon, Erez

Subjects:

300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology
400 Language
400 Language > 410 Linguistics
400 Language > 430 German & related languages

ISSN:

1101-1165

Publisher:

Uppsala University Library

Language:

Danish

Submitter:

Erez Levon

Date Deposited:

03 Jun 2021 11:23

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:48

Publisher DOI:

10.33063/diva-434156

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.153379

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/153379

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