This paper focuses on the discursive construction of masculine identity among a group of self-identified Jamaican gay men. In Jamaica, the native tongue, Jamaican Creole (JC) and the official language, English, carry particular gendered meanings. JC indexes roughness and is stereotypically associated with masculinity, while English indexes softness, weakness, and femininity - which are antithetical to the masculine ideal. Additionally, gay men are perceived as feminine and the opposite of “real men”, so the use of English is often associated with homosexuality. Thus, in order to signal their masculinity (and heterosexuality) linguistically, men are expected to use JC to be seen as "ordinary."

Using a sociocultural linguistic framework (Bucholtz & Hall 2005) and detailed discourse analysis of interview data, this paper demonstrates how three self-identified gay men discursively challenge conventional notions of ordinariness in relation to how men “should” speak by foregrounding the use of English, not JC, in their negotiation of masculine identity. Given the homophobia in the country, the stakes are higher for gay men in Jamaica to use language in a way which does not reveal their sexual identity, especially in public – because of the threat of possible physical violence. Thus, the analysis highlights the linguistic agency of these men, as they employ stances which directly challenge how they are “supposed” to speak despite sociocultural discourses which position them as unmasculine on account of their language use and sexuality. This shows the important role of language in negotiating gender and sexual identity in Jamaica, and the ways in which marginalized people can operationalize linguistic resources to enact their own sense of agency in challenging rigid social impositions of "ordinary" gender performance.

Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: a sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7(4-5), 585-614. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407