Knisely, K. (June, 2021). Why languages matter: Thinking with queer and trans knowledges. Why languages matter: Reaching across barriers. Association of Departments of Foreign Languages Plenary session at the Modern Language Association Leadership Institute. (Online).
Term Defintions:
Cisnormativity: The erroneous assumption that (almost) all people are cisgender, presenting such identification with the sex one was forcibly assigned at birth as the only valued, valid, or possible gender modality
Cisgender: A descriptor for individuals who identify with the gender (or sex) assigned to them at birth.
(Gender) Binary: A system that assumes two, distinct gender categories, which are assumed to align with binary categories of physical sex: male and female.
Gendered language attitudes: See language attitudes. Stereotypes and perceptions of language related to gender. The connections individuals make between the non-linguistic traits of masculinity or femininity and individual linguistic features or entire language varieties
Genderqueer: A term used by some, but not all individuals who identify as gender non-binary, which has queer politics and queer theory of the 1990s as its origin. May connote a central affiliation with the broader queer community and a politics of subversion (See Non-binary). There are generational trends in its use or lack of use in the US. (Similar to être queer dans son genre in French.)
Grammatical Gender: The classification of objects into grammatical categories, masculine or feminine in French, including the ways in which agreement is reflected in noun-dependent parts of speech.
Heteronormativity: The presentation of cisgender, White, monogamous, reproductive, able-bodied, straightness as natural, normal, and desirable.
Inclusive language: Linguistic forms that are not gender-specific, but which do not necessarily refer specifically to non-binary individuals.
Intercultural competence: The ability and desire to communicate (or negotiate symbolic meaning) effectively, appropriately, and ethically with diverse individuals and groups whose cultures are other than one’s own. This deep engagement is based on one’s critical knowledge, skills and attitudes (both of themselves and of others), wherein culture is dynamic, heterogeneous, and multi-layered.
Language attitudes: Culturally-bound and individualized stereotypes and perceptions of language, which may be applied to social groups, to individual linguistic features, or to entire language varieties. These positive or negative attitudes are typically drawn from stereotypes and perceptions of real or imagined speakers and the connections that all individuals readily make between linguistic traits and non-linguistic traits such as politeness and trustworthiness (cf Tamasi & Antieau, 2014).
Non-binary/ Non-binaire: A term used to describe individuals who neither identify as exclusively male nor exclusively female. The English term was introduced in the 21st century to call for the respect and for the dignity of trans people who do not identify as solely woman or man, as opposed to a politics of subversion (See Genderqueer) and may connote a primary affiliation with the trans community. May be considered an umbrella term under which genderqueer may be included, depending on the individual (Non-binaire is the French term for non-binary and is the most frequently used identity term of its type.)
Non-binary language: Linguistic forms that are gender neutral and which are specifically used to refer to non-binary individuals (also called gender neutral linguistic forms).
Symbolic competence: The ability to position oneself as a multilingual subject and to manipulate the three dimensions of language as a symbolic system: symbolic representation, symbolic action, symbolic power. This implies the ability to understand the cultural memories evoked by symbolic systems, to perform and create alternative realities, and to reframe and shape the multilingual game in which one invests (Kramsch, 2011; Kramsch & Whiteside, 2008).
TGNC: TGNC is used in the context of this talk to refer to the collectivity of individuals who are trans, non-binary, and/or gender non-conforming. It is a broad, umbrella abbreviation used, here, in an effort to subvert any possibility of transnormative exclusion.
Trans/Transgender: An umbrella term to identify individuals who do not identify with the gender identity (or sex) assigned to them at birth.
Transnormativity: The presentation of only certain trans embodiments as valid (i.e. The assumption that trans people should fit a cissexist idea of what is “normal”).
Resources:
Please see the publications page to view and request copies of my written work for your personal, private use. This includes the following readings, which I particularly recommend for anyone interested in continuing with the topics and themes of this talk.
Knisely, K. and Paiz, J.M. (2021) Bringing Trans, Non-binary, and Queer Understandings to Bear in Language Education. Critical Multilingualism Studies. 9.
This piece provides an introduction to trans-affirming queer inquiry-based pedagogies and illustrates how they offer one possible path toward increasingly just and equitable sites of language teaching and learning.
Knisely, K. (2021). L/G/B and T: Queer Excisions, Entailments, and Intersections. In J. Paiz & J. Coda (Eds.) Intersectional Perspectives on LGBTQ+ Issues in Language Teaching and Learning. Palgrave Macmillan.
This piece explores the relationships that exist between gender and sexuality, particularly as they have and continue to play out in the field of applied linguistics and advocates for an intersectional approach to understanding the positionalities of language users, learners, and teachers.
Knisely, K. (2021). Teaching trans: The Impetus for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming inclusivity in L2 classrooms. In K. Davidson, S. Johnson, & L. Randolph (Eds.) How We Take Action: Social Justice in K-16 Language Classrooms. Information Age.
This chapter is perhaps my most general piece, offering an introduction to thinking about queer inquiry-based pedagogies and a series of reflection questions for educators to think about where they are beginning with their knowledge of trans people, lives, and concerns and where they are beginning with thinking about what that means for their specific language classroom.
Knisely, K. (2021). A Starter Kit for Rethinking TGNC Representation and Inclusion in French L2 Classrooms. In N. Meyer & E. Hoft-March (Eds.) Teaching Diversity and Inclusion: Examples from a French-Speaking Classroom. Routledge.
This chapter is a broad introduction to working with trans knowledges and language forms in the French language classroom.
Knisely, K. (2020). Le français non-binaire: linguistic forms used by non-binary speakers of French. Foreign Language Annals. 53(4), 850-876. doi: 10.1111/flan.12500
This article addresses the actual linguistic aspects of form creation, selection, and propagation of non-binary forms. It simultaneously considers the implications of these linguistic realities (including nascency, resistance, and plurality) for the teaching and learning of French and other languages with so-termed grammatically binary gender.
Knisely, K. (2020). Subverting the culturally unreadable: Understanding the self-positioning of non-binary speakers of French. The French Review. 94(2), 149-168.
This article considers how non-binary speakers of French self-position in specific linguistic and cultural landscapes and what that might mean for how we think about and understand various non-binary communities as (linguistic) co-cultures.
Please see the resources for educators page and the partners & colleagues page for numerous other resources, including but not limited to recommended publications, authors, and organizations as well as infographics such as the below:
