TY - JOUR
T1 - MANstruation
T2 - A cyberethnography of linguistic strategies of trans and nonbinary menstruators
AU - Kosher, Rowena B.D.
AU - Houghton, Lauren C.
AU - Winkler, Inga T.
N1 - Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/7/1
Y1 - 2023/7/1
N2 - Trans and nonbinary experiences of menstruation are subject to menstrual discourse that is deeply gendered. Terms such as “feminine hygiene” and “women's health” make trans and nonbinary people acutely aware that they fall outside of the ideal of the default menstruator. To better understand how such language affects menstruators who are not cis women and what alternative linguistic strategies they adopt, we conducted a cyberethnography of 24 YouTube videos created by trans and nonbinary menstruators, along with their 12,000-plus comments. We observed a range of menstrual experiences—dysphoria, tensions between femininity and masculinity, and transnormative pressures. Using grounded theory, we identified three distinct linguistic strategies vloggers adopted to navigate these experiences: (1) avoiding standard and feminizing language; (2) reframing language through masculinization; and (3) challenging transnormativity. The avoidance of standard and feminizing language, coupled with a reliance on vague and negative euphemisms, revealed feelings of dysphoria. Masculinizing strategies, on the other hand, navigated dysphoria through euphemisms—or even hyper-euphemisms—that showed an effort to reclaim menstruation to fit within the trans and nonbinary experience. Vloggers responded through tropes of hegemonic masculinity, using puns and wordplay, and sometimes relying on hypermasculinity and transnormativity. Transnormativity, however, can be polarizing, and vloggers and commenters who rejected stratification of trans and nonbinary menstruation challenged it. Taken together, these videos not only uncover an overlooked community of menstruators who demonstrate unique linguistic engagement with menstruation, but they also reveal destigmatization and inclusion strategies that can inform critical menstruation activism and research as a whole.
AB - Trans and nonbinary experiences of menstruation are subject to menstrual discourse that is deeply gendered. Terms such as “feminine hygiene” and “women's health” make trans and nonbinary people acutely aware that they fall outside of the ideal of the default menstruator. To better understand how such language affects menstruators who are not cis women and what alternative linguistic strategies they adopt, we conducted a cyberethnography of 24 YouTube videos created by trans and nonbinary menstruators, along with their 12,000-plus comments. We observed a range of menstrual experiences—dysphoria, tensions between femininity and masculinity, and transnormative pressures. Using grounded theory, we identified three distinct linguistic strategies vloggers adopted to navigate these experiences: (1) avoiding standard and feminizing language; (2) reframing language through masculinization; and (3) challenging transnormativity. The avoidance of standard and feminizing language, coupled with a reliance on vague and negative euphemisms, revealed feelings of dysphoria. Masculinizing strategies, on the other hand, navigated dysphoria through euphemisms—or even hyper-euphemisms—that showed an effort to reclaim menstruation to fit within the trans and nonbinary experience. Vloggers responded through tropes of hegemonic masculinity, using puns and wordplay, and sometimes relying on hypermasculinity and transnormativity. Transnormativity, however, can be polarizing, and vloggers and commenters who rejected stratification of trans and nonbinary menstruation challenged it. Taken together, these videos not only uncover an overlooked community of menstruators who demonstrate unique linguistic engagement with menstruation, but they also reveal destigmatization and inclusion strategies that can inform critical menstruation activism and research as a whole.
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Language
KW - Linguistics
KW - Male
KW - Masculinity
KW - Menstruation
KW - Transgender Persons
KW - Women's Health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85160729067&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115974
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115974
M3 - Article
C2 - 37269746
AN - SCOPUS:85160729067
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 328
SP - 115974
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
M1 - 115974
ER -