Vol. 9:2 (2020) ► pp.179–201
“Thaz how u kno ur dum”
Jock identity and orthographic play on a male erotic hypnosis messageboard
This study analyzes language use among a group of gay men who participate on an online messageboard (OnYourKnees), focused on the attainment of a ‘dumb jock’ identity. Posters align with a series of qualities that largely conform to ideologies of American jock masculinity, but at the same time satirize those ideologies: in particular, many posters view as an integral quality of dumb-jock identity ‘dumbness:’ an unwillingness/inability to engage in scholarly/academic pursuits. The repeated citationality of dumbness as a positive quality creates a distinct identity-type that posters link with erotic desire. Orthographic variation contributes to the attainment and recognition of a jock identity: posters who identify as jocks are more likely to display non-standard American English spelling than those who do not. This study thus highlights the importance of orthographic variation in maintaining distinct identities among local communities, especially in a space where traditional ideologies of masculinity are recontextualized.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Conceptions of identity
- 3.Hegemonic masculinity and jock identities
- 4.Discussion of corpus and the practice of OnYourKnees
- 5.Jock identity and dumbness on OnYourKnees
- 6.Jocks and dumbness in orthography
- 7.Conclusion
- Notes
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References
https://doi.org/10.1075/jls.19020.cha