JA ES BŪTU SMUKS, ES GRIBĒTU BŪT MEITENE! (‘If I Were Pretty, I Would Like To Be A Girl!’). Debating Transsexualism In The Latvian Parliament

Abstract

The article investigates a debate on the issues of legal recognition of gender which took place in the Latvian Parliament in 2009 and which is considered a rich source of material for a two-fold analysis. As an example of gendered discourse, it shows the differences between female and male MPs’ ways of tackling this uncomfortable subject. As a discourse about gender, which allows one to study the speakers’ arguments and attitudes, it reveals prejudice, lack of knowledge and conservative thinking. The analysis thus illustrates the language and arguments employed in the public sphere when discussing face-threatening, taboo topics.

Keywords

• debates
• gender
• Latvian
• parliamentary discourse
• sociolinguistics
• transsexualism