{"id":2433,"date":"2023-10-13T09:36:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T13:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/?p=2433"},"modified":"2023-10-13T09:36:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T13:36:35","slug":"language-and-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/2023\/10\/13\/language-and-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"Language and Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have been really thinking about this idea, of what it really means to put language to an identity. Especially how it signifies, symbolizes, and gets used. This thought also renders me quite a predicament when language isn\u2019t used to label identity, and rather abandons it all together. Without the use of language, can we still rely on simple experiences to explain our identity? In Annie Proix\u2019s, Brokeback Mountain, Ennis and Jack have just had their first sexual encounter \u201cWithout saying anything about it both knew how it would go for the rest of the summer, sheep be damned\u201d (15). Here, words seem to cease from their vocabulary and yet with this line it insinuates that both Jack and Ennis will continue on their sexual escapades. I also found this to be an almost comedic approach to lessen the sexual\u00a0 tension between the two. Rather than admit to the enjoyment of each other’s company, instead they recognize their future failure to uphold their duties as sheep herders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Following this, in a conversation between Jack and Ennis, \u201cEnnis said \u2018I’m not no queer,\u2019 and Jack jumped in with \u2018Me neither. A one-shot thing. Nobody\u2019s business but ours\u2026 They believed themselves invisible\u201d (15). In reading this exchange between the two, I couldn\u2019t help but re-read this section over and over again. After having read the two having sex together initially, and more and more taking risks each time \u2013 I had to ask myself is this maybe not queer? Ennis would definitely say he is not gay, but the actions he takes would convince us otherwise. Does having \u201cqueer\u201d sex make us queer? Taking a deeper look, \u201cqueer\u201d in the context for myself as I read over this line, is probably much different than how \u201cqueer\u201d for Ennis would look like. It reminded me of how Eli Clare had examined language with explicit vs implicit definitions. \u201cQueer\u201d in a sense for Ennis might possibly represent something so obscure from his identity that it makes it hard for him to acknowledge it as his own. This framework also related me to this idea of\u00a0 Halberstam\u2019s \u201cmetronormativity\u201d where it is believed that being LGBTQ is only appropriate and safe for the cities, and where rurality ceases the cultivation of these experiences. However, I think even as Jack and Ennis claim their heterosexuality on the mountain \u2013 the connection that they have been able to find on Brokeback mountain supports this greater claim that queer life can exist and flourish in rurality. It may be because of the \u201crurality\u201d of the mountain that allows them to explore what \u201cqueer\u201d means for them. <\/span><\/p>\n

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I have been really thinking about this idea, of what it really means to put language to an identity. Especially how it signifies, symbolizes, and gets used. This thought also renders me quite a predicament when language isn\u2019t used to label identity, and rather abandons it all together. Without the use of language, can we … Continue reading Language and Identity<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5318,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[346798],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2023-blog-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5318"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}