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First published online January 3, 2023

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Designedly intentional misgendering in social interaction: A conversation analytic account

David Matthew Edmonds https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8277-9980 [email protected] and Marco PinoView all authors and affiliations

Volume 33, Issue 4

https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535221141550

Abstract
References
Biographies

Abstract

Misgendering – moments where someone refers to, describes, or addresses a person as a gender different to the one they identify with – is a challenge that trans people can face in social interaction. Misgendering is an interactional phenomenon but has yet to be examined for how it unfolds in conversation. Utilizing conversation analysis, we focus on what we term designedly intentional misgendering. We show how speakers utilize turn-design features and sequential placement to mark a misgendering as intentional. We also document how such misgendering is mobilized for different actions in social interaction. Speakers can utilize designedly intentional misgendering to display negative interactional positions towards trans people and related matters. Trans people can respond to such misgendering by negatively characterizing another speaker and their conduct. Our work advances existing discussions around the intentionality of misgendering and trans people's interactional agency.

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Biographies

David Matthew Edmonds is a postdoctoral fellow and member of the Research and Impact Initiative on Communication in Healthcare (HKU RIICH) in the School of English at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests center predominantly on social interaction in different healthcare contexts. He is also currently conducting research on misgendering as well as on how people talk about their mental health.

Marco Pino is a senior lecturer at Loughborough University. He uses conversation analysis to examine social interactions in several contexts, including healthcare and social care settings and everyday informal interactions. He is currently involved in studies of communication in end-of-life care, bereavement support, laughter in family interactions, and misgendering.

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