Language/sexuality/affect

The papers in this special issue examine the relationships between language, sexuality and affect. Using examples of language use from Argentine cinema, bounce music performance, a university classroom, a BDSM community, and Black women’s urban queer space, the papers show how various forms of linguistic practice allow affect to remain comfortably nested on “the cusp of semantic availability” (Williams 1977: 134), rather than being reduced to tightly defined categories or messages. The discussions of these examples also show how various forms of linguistic practice allow sexuality to unfold as a messy formation (Giffney 2009, Manalansan 2014), thereby remaining resistant to boundaries and precise definitions. The basis for these parallels between affect and sexuality are explored in these papers, as are their implications for future studies of language, affect, and sexuality.