People Didn’t Used to Ask for ‘Space’ in Their Relationships. . .
The expression caught on in the 1970s and is now so common as to be a cliché—but it’s still as confusing as ever. Professor Scott Kiesling helps to unpack some of the meaning behind this phrase.
His new textbook on the topic--Language, Gender and Sexuality: An Introduction--will be published in March, 2019. Drawing on an international range of examples to illustrate key points, this book addresses the questions of:
how language categorizes the gender/sexuality world in both grammar and interaction;
how speakers display, create, and orient to gender, sexuality, and desire in interaction;
how and why people display different ways of speaking based on their gender/sexual identities.
Next fall, Scott will be teaching a course on Language, Gender & Society at both the grad and undergraduate level. You can explore phrases and concepts like this in his class!