From Drag Queens to Leathermen examines gendered language in six gay male subcultures: drag queens, radical faeries, bears, circuit boys, barebackers, and leathermen. The chapters include ethnographic-based studies of language use in each of these subcultures, with special attention to the ways in which linguistic patterns challenge normative assumptions about gender and sexuality.

Series Foreword Transcription Conventions Editor's Preface Author's Preface Chapter One: From Drag Queens to Leathermen Chapter Two: Fierce Fish Who Pee: Indexicality and Identity among African American Drag Queens Chapter Three: The Faggot God is Here!: Indexing Space and Time in Radical Faerie Sacred Music Chapter Four: The Class Menagerie: Working-class Appropriations and Bear Identity Chapter Five: Down the K-Hole: Circuit Boy Language Ideology and Linguistic Differentiation Chapter Six: Viral Loads: Barebacker Identity and Interactional Stances towards Ideologies of Safe Sex Chapter Seven: Red and Yellow Coming Together: Intertdiscoursivity and Sexual Citizenship at International Mr. Leather Chapter Eight: Conclusion: Language, Gender, and Gay Male Subcultures

"Rusty Barrett's new monograph is a significant achievement from a scholar whose contributions have been instrumental in forging the field. Insightful, thorough, and yet often entertaining, From Drag Queens to Leathermen brings to bear on a number of crucial issues, notably on performativity and indexicality as deeply implicated in language ideologies underpinning gendered and sexual identity. From Drag Queens to Leathermen is not only a welcome addition to the accumulating literature on language, gender, and sexuality but a token of the maturity of the field." -- Costas Canakis , Journal of Language and Sexuality "In these refreshingly sympathetic chapters, Rusty Barrett explores the ways in which notably contrastive groups of gay men use language as a central medium at once reflecting and constructing a sense of belonging and distinctiveness. In the complex field that aligns sexuality with race, class, and gender identities, among others, From Drag Queens to Leathermen guides us to appreciate the sites of performance, of ritual, and of ecstatic practice where the semiotic work is of indexically infusing sexual identity with sociocultural meaning and value, and with the dignity of subjectivity, is accomplished."--Michael Silverstein, Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology, Linguistics, and Psychology, University of Chicago. "Barrett (linguistics, Univ. of Kentucky) uses ethnographic techniques--interviews, participant observation, archival research, and textual/discourse analysis--to offer a meticulous analysis of language use within six subcultures of gay men: African American drag queens, radical faeries, bears, circuit boys, barebackers, and leathermen. Using concepts such as performativity and indexicality, Barrett looks at how these subcultures espouse various and competing scripts of gender and sexuality."--Choice "This is an illuminating book that eloquently demonstrates the necessity of analyzing sexuality and gender simultaneously and thereby revels the intersectional nature of language across cultures." --Men and Masculinities

Selling point: A previously unpublished study, this book offers the first look at language in gay subcultures Selling point: Examines complex issues surrounding gay rights, public health, and barebacking, among other topics Selling point: Subcultures examined include radical faeries, drag queens, bears, circuit boys, barebackers, and leathermen Selling point: Provides theoretical background related to language ideology, performativity, indexicality, and gendered ideologies

Rusty Barrett is an Associate Professor in the Linguistics Department at the University of Kentucky. His research examines a broad range of issues in sociocultural, descriptive, and historical linguistics. In addition to his work on language, gender and sexuality, he has conducted a great deal of research in Mayan linguistics. With Kira Hall, he is co-editor of the forthcoming The Oxford Handbook of Language and Sexuality (Oxford University Press).

Selling point: A previously unpublished study, this book offers the first look at language in gay subcultures Selling point: Examines complex issues surrounding gay rights, public health, and barebacking, among other topics Selling point: Subcultures examined include radical faeries, drag queens, bears, circuit boys, barebackers, and leathermen Selling point: Provides theoretical background related to language ideology, performativity, indexicality, and gendered ideologies