Languaculture and Linguistic Sexuality among Young Women in Prostitution

Lahav-Raz, Y. 2014. “Languaculture and Linguistic Sexuality among Young Women in Prostitution”. Israeli Sociology 16 (1): 7-30.

Abstract

An extensive literature addresses various subcultures in language, but there exists little research into language use by populations involved in prostitution. This paper contributes to knowledge about prostitution by investigating the connection between language, culture and sexuality among young women involved in prostitution in Israel. Based on qualitative research including two years of fieldwork, the paper presents a "pussy language" – a linguistic sexuality which constitutes an ambiguous space and linguistic testimony to their life course. The "pussy language," I argue, is a unique languaculture consisting of a vast variety of intersecting, contradicting and complementary meanings. Although this "pussy language" has a limited vocabulary, their myriad ways of pronouncing just a few words reflects an intellectual richness and linguistic virtuosity. 

Last updated on 11/22/2021