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Article published In:
Asian Perspectives on Queer Discourse
Edited by Ke Zhang and Chao Lu
[Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 33:2] 2023
► pp. 204–226

“I am who I am”

Mitigating LGBTQ identities in heteronormative society

| Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
| Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Sarawak
| Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
| Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

The study examined how LGBTQ individuals negotiate their identities in the Malaysian heteronormative society using the Discourse-Historical Approach. In-depth interviews were carried out with 13 LGBTQ individuals to find out the discursive strategies they used in describing the triggers for coming out, their experiences, and the reasons for their struggles. The analysis of the interview data showed that the participants used the “destiny” and “rights” arguments to counter the “legal”, “religious” and “traditional values” arguments used by heterosexuals to reject them. Referents and personal pronouns were selectively used by LGBTQ participants to present different perspectives, “us” versus “them” (heterosexuals), “I” and other LGBTQ individuals, and “I” versus “they” or “you” (other sexual orientations). The findings have implications that are relevant to mitigation of LGBTQ identities in contexts which have strong heteronormative norms due to legal, religion and traditional values.

Keywords: LGBTQ, discursive construction, heteronormative, mitigation, self-representation, Malaysia
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Theoretical framework of study
  • Method
  • Results
    • (1) Nomination strategies used for self-representation
    • (2) Predication strategies used by LGBTQ individuals to describe themselves
    • (3) Arguments employed in the discourse of self-representation of LGBTQ individuals
    • (4) Perspectives employed in the discourse of self-representation of LGBTQ individuals
    • (5) Mitigation and Intensification
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 25 July 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00103.tin
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