« Kwir nou exist » : le mot Kwir et les arguments linguistiques, culturels et sociohistoriques dans les discours des jeunes Réunionnais·es de la minorité sexuelle et de genre

Abstract

This article proposes an exploratory analysis of prominent elements in the recent activist discourse mobilized by young Reunionese of the sexual and gender minority. It involves a discourse analysis based on heterogeneous empirical data, including activist speeches from the first two LGBTQIA+ visibility marches, individual discourses, manifestos, and slogans. The focus is on examining the role of the word "kwir" and the Creole language as tools of resistance, with special attention to the mobilization of the island’s colonial and slave past. The analysis explores how these linguistic, sociohistorical, and cultural elements bridge creoleness and queer as a transnational political and critical movement, creating pathways for LGBTQIA+ struggles that break away from mainland European France movements.

Keywords

• queer
• discourse analysis
• activism
• postcolonial
• Réunion Island
• slavery