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The Indexical Field of “Queer”: Reappropriation and Social Meaning on Twitter During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
This study identifies the indexicalities of the word “queer” during the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, it provides insight into whether the rising homophobia during this crisis affected the indexical field of “queer,” revealing the effectiveness of reappropriation. The study followed a qualitative and descriptive approach, utilizing corpus-based data to examine the usage of “queer” on Twitter (now known as X). Data were analyzed using the indexical field framework with multimodal discourse analysis to examine data including images. Indexicalities were identified by coding the meanings behind “queer” in the tweets and grouping them into one of two indexical orders: stances and permanent qualities. Social types emerged from the identification of the other indexical orders. The results reveal that “queer” primarily indexes confidence through self-labels, a referential word for queer individuals, solidarity, a slur, and absurdity. These stances and permanent qualities also reveal the following social types: pro-queers, queer-coders, and anti-queers.
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