Camp Codes and Subtle Outing: How the British Broadsheet Press Learned Gay Slang

Abstract

As stated in the Introduction to this book, language and sexual identity is not merely the provenance of language usage by LGBTQ identified people. This area of enquiry must also address itself to the question of how this constituency is represented in discourse. This chapter takes as its focus the portrayal of two male British politicians who have been depicted in the press as gay. Their treatment, and how they are perceived, has repercussions for our understanding of homophobia, notions of a gay ‘code’, and the issue of intentionality in discourse about sexual identity.