Name-calling of the non-heteronomative male subject in contemporary common French

Abstract

Based on the experience and observation of contemporary common French language during a linguistic stay of almost three years in Paris (as a Colombian native Spanish speaker), we noticed the use of a set of names to refer to what is defined in the common language as male "homosexual". In this case, our interest is in the practices of naming, concerning male subjects that, in a way, do not fit into the socially imposed heterosexual norm. After defining 30 occurrences of the name-calling for the non-heteronomative male subject in contemporary common French, we studied them from a pragmatic and a praxematic angle, which has appealed to the “epilinguistic knowledge” and the “linguistic feeling” of 50 speakers of the contemporary French from Paris. This epistemological stance allowed us to highlight fundamental characteristics of this phenomenon, such as: the trivialization of the nomination of subjects in mention; the sexualization and pathologization of non-heteronormative behaviours; the parallelism between foreigners, women, prostitutes and homosexual or effeminate men; the influence of English and American culture; the appropriation of some terms to name oneself; among other elements to be furthered discussed in the analysis and conclusion of this article.