TRANSGENDERISATION AND LANGUAGE PRODUCTION

A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC INVESTIGATION

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between gender and language. It seeks to investigate language production and use by a transgender person, to observe transgender discourse produced by Bobrisky, who claimed to have changed his gender from male to female. It is a qualitative study that aims to describe and interpret Bobrisky’s speeches. Three video contents were purposely selected from his social media handle. Furthermore, the data for the study is analysed based on the Dominance theory propounded by Robin Lakoff (1975), which challenges the traditional perception of women’s communication by Jesperson’s deficit theory. The findings from the study reveal that though Bobrisky claims to be a man, his speeches expose his true identity, making the theory an essential tool for  determining Bobrisky's gender as a man, since his speech doesn’t fit into the basics of the theory. Again, it clearly shows that Bobrisky has deviated from his psychological and biological design as a woman and is only trying so hard to fit into the circle. The study reveals that Bobrisky is caught in a serious identity crisis, for his linguistic mannerisms as well as his use of language betray his new self-imposed gender. His speech shows that he is also assertive, as he states facts rather than opinions and he always enjoys dominance or control of the conversation to gain power.