William L. Leap

Language, Gay Pornography, and Audience Reception

Erotic imagery is an important component of gay pornographic cinema, particularly, where work of audience reception is concerned. However, to assume the audience engagement with the films is limited solely to the erotic realm is to underestimate the workings of ideological power in the context and aftermath of reception. For example, the director of the film under discussion here (Men of Israel; Lucas, 2009b) intended to present an erotic celebration of the nation-state. Yet, most viewers ignore the particulars of context in their comments about audience reception, placing the “Israeli” narrative within a broader framework, using transnational rather than film-specific criteria to guide their “reading” of the Israeli-centered narrative. This article uses as its entry point the language that viewers employ when describing their reactions to Men of Israel on a gay video clubs Web site; this article shows how the work of audience reception may draw attention to a films erotic details while invoking social and political messages that completely reframe the films erotic narrative.

Commentary II: Queering language and normativity

Work in queer linguistics addresses diverse themes, but finds common interest in critical studies of homonormativity. As the articles in this special issue suggest, such studies connect social experience with normative practice and its regulatory constraints, recognizing that language, along with desire and other components of sexuality, are primary sites through which normativity and regulatory control unfold in everyday life.