History of Gender Concepts : Contingency, Change and Action
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His o y o Gende Concep s : Con ingency, Change and Ac ion
© Au ho 2003
Published e sion
Pulkkinen, Tuija
Pulkkinen, T. (2003). His o y o Gende Concep s : Con ingency, Change and Ac ion. In Lambda
No dica (9, pp. 138-147). Lambda No dica.
h ps://lambdano dica.o g/index.php/lambdano dica/a icle/ iew/176
2003
His o y
o
gende concep s
Con ingency, change and ac ion
Tuija Pulkkinen
This a icle will conside he his o ically con il1gen na u e
and
he powe
o
concep s like 'lesbian', 'gay', 'bisexual', anssexual', 'c an gende '.
'quee ',
and
also
o
o he s such
as
'ma
n'
and 'woman'. Fo he lack
o
a
be e wo d, le
us
call all
o
hem gende concep s, al hough
we
know ha 'gen-
de ' i sel has a e y in e es ing
and
ecen his o y
as
a concep . All hese concep s
unc ion o o ganize he ield
o
gende , ha
is,
o discipline a ious o de s
o
access, exclusion,
and
hie a chy, whe he conce ning bodily pleasu e
and
emo-
ion, o economic s uc u es
o
household a angemen s and social class. I
is
pa icula ly in o ma i e o conside he his o y
o
such concep s, because paying
a en ion o hei his o y disconnec s hem om he assump ion
o
he e being
an o iginal o na u al o de . Ra he , i makes one e lec
on
he powe
o
concep s,
o
wha hese concep s achie e h ough managing he possible expe ience.
A e wha
is
known
as
he linguis ic
u n
in
philosophy, which also in o ms
wha we unde s and by " he pos mode n" in he ield
o
heo y, one would expec
he e o be li le need o pe suade heo is s o pay e en mo e a en ion o language.
Howe e , al hough he e
is
a widesp ead con ic ion ha he "limi s
o
ou language
a e he limi s
o
ou wo ld", language oo o en emains an abs ac no ion and
is
no
' aken se iously' in conc e e e ms
and
aking in o accoun he plu ali y
o
languages. Taking language se iously does
no
only mean paying a en ion o he
"na u al languages" in opposi ion o he " o mal language" .
I
also calls o ocusing
on
he di e ence c ea ed h ough he ac
o
he mul iplici y
o
languages, and
consequen ly, d awing a en ion o he concep ual
Spiel aum,
he concep ual
con ingency, ha
is
c ea ed by his di e ence.
Likewise, e en
i
i
is
commonplace o e e o "doing hings
wi h
wo ds", he
implica ions
o
linguis ic pe o ma i i y a e
no
ully played ou ,
and
ac ion
h ough language use
in
di e en languages does
no
ecei e de ailed a en ion.
Wo ds indeed do hings: i ma e s whe he poli ics
is
discussed
in
e ms
o
" igh s"
o
in e ms
o
"sys em o law,"
as
"Rech " (G ), 'Ra l
(Sw)
o
'Oikeul
(F), o example.
I
ma e s, whe he he e
is
he
wo d
'gende '
in
a language,
as
we doing women's s udies in Scandina ian coun ies and Ge many ha e lea -
ned du ing he ecen decades
when
his English
wo d
has been looking o i s
ansla ion. Mo eo e , i ma e s, and i conc e ely changes peoples li es, whe he
138
His o y
o
gende
concep s
he e
is
he wo d ' anssexual" in he ocabula y
o
a language.
New
wo ds and
exp essions in a language do
no
me ely concep ualize p e-exis ing expe iences
in new ways, o ollow om new ways
o
expe iencing hings, hey also ende
new ypes
o
expe iences possible, hey c ea e new possibili ies, hey do hings.
'Quee ' de ini ely
is
no
excep ion. We migh ask
wha
does "quee "
do?
Wha
is
i s poli ics like?
Whe e
does i s pe o ma i e powe
lie?
Concep ual
his o y
esea ch
Concep ual con ingency and concep ual change
as
poli ical ac ion
is
cu en ly
s udied in ensely wi hin he ield
o
his o y
o
poli ical concep s. We know, o
example,
much
o
he his o y and ul ima e con ingency
o
concep s ha in o m
ou poli ical imagina ion and in elligibili y such
as
' he s a e', 'ci il socie y' o
' he people' o ' he na ion'. We know ha hey did
no
always exis
as
concep s
and
as
wo ds, hey ha e come in o being a some
poin
o
ime in some place,
ha e e y di e en his o ies in di e en language ealms,
and
consequen ly
' hings' e e ed o h ough hem could be concei ed
o
and li ed in a e y
di e en manne .
The
idea in concep ual his o y esea ch
is
ha
i
does
no
con ine i sel o "language" in an abs ac sense, o o "ideas" in an abs ac
sense,
bu
ins ead looks a he e y ma e iali y
o
language, he conc e e wo ds
used combined
wi h
hei seman ic analysis.
In he ealm
o
gende concep s he e
is
oom o simila wo k. Despi e he
abundan alk
on
he decons uc ion
o
he ca ego y
o
woman in ecen li e a-
u e, he ca ego y 'woman'
is,
ne e heless, s ill o en aken
as
undamen al and
na u al. Looking a he his o y
o
gende concep s in a conc e e
way,
ha
is,
concen a ing in wo ds and exp essions in languages,
e eals
a con ingency which
su passes he con enien expec a ions
o
na u alized gende and connec s i o
he his o y
o
gende o de .
A
he le el
o
e y conc e e language use, a much
mo e di e si ied pas
o
a ious "sameness"
and
"di e ences"
is
e ealed and he
e y ecen appea ance
o
he concep
o
'woman' becomes appa en .
This s a emen in ol es mo e han me ely acknowledging ha
i
is
p oblema ic
o assume some hing like "women's expe ience" jus because he e a e di e en
kinds
o
women wi h di e en expe iences. O , analogically, ha i would be
p oblema ic o speak
o
'lesbian expe ience' because
a
di e en imes he same-
sex
expe ience migh ha e been li ed
ou
di e en ly. Ra he , he e he a en ion
is
di ec ed o he simple ac ha he e dea ly a e pe iods
o
ime when you
could
no
aLk
o
some hing like 'women's expe ience' because he e we e no
wo ds ope a ing in he way ha ou wo d "woman" does.
You
would
no
alk in
e ms
o
such a ca ego y and you would
no
concei e
o
he wo ld
as
di ided
p ima ily in o "women" and men, because he meaning ul lines
o
di ision
we e d awn in ano he
way.
139
Tuija
Pulkkinen
Fo example, in Swedish language
as
i
was
used in ea ly 19 h cen u y ex s in
Finland 'k inna' (woman)
was
no used
o
e e o gen y women, who we e
ins ead e e ed o a ' nm imme '.
To
calJ
a 'Jhm imme/ a
'k i md
a ha poin
would ha e been
as
w ong a
,I
would assume, i would h
a e
been
o
ca
Jl
'a lady'
a 'woman' in English.
I
appea s a hou
gh
woman'
as
a gene al concep was
ai ly a ely used up un il a ound 1800 - he a ious e ms
o
gua dianship-
s a us o ma iage-s a us and
class
being much mo e common.
In he Bible, o example, he e a e plen y
o
e e ences
o
'wi es', 'widows'
and ' i gins' -bu a ely he wo d 'woman'. A ypical ph ase in which i occu s
is,
o example " he e
was
a woman in ha own ha li ed in sin". Shakespea e's
ex s poin in he same di ec ion: 'woman'
is
used ai ly a ely and only when
he e ms 'wi e', 'widow', 'maid,' 'gen lewoman' o 'lady' a e
no
applicable.
I
is
used
p onouncedly
o
e e o
'bad'
women,
p os i u es,
sick people,
unma iageable emales, hose
no
belonging
o
any male,
and
o ally unknown
o s ange emale pe sons, people who
li e
ou side he egula o de : egula
household o de
and
egula sexual o de .
The
s o y
o
he e m 'woman', ansmu ed om a ma ginal in o a cen al
ca ego y
o
gende o de , om e e ing
o
a mino i y g oup
o
odd
people in o
igni ying/deno'[ing he cen al
ca egoq
i a o y
o
poli ical wo k- change
o
language, and
o
o de .
I
i also a con ingen
s O y,
in ha i could ha e gone
in
ano he
way.
'Women's' posicion could no be discussed
o
w i en abou in
e ms
o
'women' in gene al un il a linguis ic change had been comple ed, ha
is,
un il i became possible o speak in such a language.
I
is
an in e es ing ask
o ace he his o y and he agen s
o
his concep ual change.
The
uni e sal
ca ego y 'woman'
as
opposed o 'man'
was
a p econdi ion o and he esul
o
' he woman ques ion,' 'women's mo emen ', and eminism in he
19
h
cen u y.
Those who p e e
o
ancho emale/male dis inc ion in uni e sal biological o
o ganic na u e, o human condi ion and gende ed expe ience, jus lack insigh
in o he his o ical con ingency and he Spiel aum he e
is
in
he s o y.
I
is,
he e o e, wo h emembe ing ha 'woman' -pa icula ly in ela ion
a'wi e' -
is
a poli ical concep , ha i achie e ome hing. In mul iple
ways,
so
is,
o
cou e, 'lesbian'. S a ing ha 'quee '
is
poli ical, and does some hing,
p obably does no need
as
much de ending.
The
his o y
o
all
o
hese concep s
i in e wined wi h mas e ing and wi h enabli
ng
li e
s
o
be
li ed
di e en.
ciy
,
and wi h muggles -s uggles o poli ical igh s, s
ug
gl
es
o e ways
o l
i ing,
o e household o de ,
aJld
sexual licence: who
yo
u
mayo
who
YOll
should
ouch and
how,
and wha
is
imaginable and nameable
as
desjJ·e.
'Lesbian'
As
a opic
o
his o ical esea ch, hen, i
is
in e es ing o app oach he lesbian
140
His o y
o
gende
concep s
expe ience
and
he concep
o
lesbian
as
i
appea s conc e ely
as
a ma e
o
poli ics
o
wo ds wi hin di e en language sphe es. Ins ead
o
alking
abou
when he
idea
o lesbian eme ged his o ically in No dic coun ies, o specula ing
on how pe sons
in
he pas
el ,
a
much
mo e in e es ing and a mo e p ecise
ask,
is
o ollow in he ex s,
bo h
semasiologically
and
onomasiologically, he
wo d- amilies a ound 'lesbian' and o do esea ch
on
he concep ual changes
based
on
conc e e language
use.
The
ocus
on
di e ences in place
and
ime
is
achie ed h ough ocusing on language.
The
new wo ds s a ing o ci cula e
eally do some hing: hey a e
no
only a sign
o
change
bu
hey also change
and make possible hings ha we e
no
possible be o e. They, he e o e, can be
seen
as
making possible en i e ways
o
li e, di e en o de s
o
hings.
In
e ms
o
lesbian esea ch, ocusing
on
pa icula languages helps o a oid
simply uni e salizing phenomena
o
all imes
and
places.
I
also helps o a oid
pe sonalizing
he
"quali ies"
which
a e esul s
o
complex discou ses
in
in e ac ion.
I
is
no
in equen ly
ha
he quali ies a e seen inhe en ly
in
pa icula pe sons, in hei "bi h", and
no
in he his o ical-social-linguis ic
concep ual possibili ies, he
Spiel aume,
ha a e a ailable o indi idual pe -
sons o 'expe ience'
and
' o be' some hing.
My
a o i e example
o
he di e ence in ime
and
place
and
o
he p oblems
in ol ed in loca ing he o igin
o
quali ies in indi idual pe sons
is
inspi ed by
Leslie Feinbe g's no el
S one-Bu ch
Blues
and i s desc ip ion
o
he childhood
and
you h
o
he main cha ac e . Jess Goldbe g, a c oss-d essing child whose
gende
and
sexual iden i y Feinbe g goes
o
some leng hs o ace back o
Jess's
bi h. Acco ding o he na a i e, Jess was bo n di e en om hose a ound
he . He /his o iginal iden i y un olds
and
is
disclosed o o he s
in
he cou se
o
he s o y.
The
na a i e desc ibes Jess
as
labo iously inding he /his eal sel ,
i s
as
a bu ch lesbian and hen, la e ,
as
an
FTM
anssexual.
A eade inclined o decons uc ion, howe e , easily ecognizes se e al dis-
cou ses in
Jess's
su oundings ha we e a ailable o c ea ing he di e ences
and
iden i ies
ha
a e pu po edly he e in his pe son's o iginal make-up since
bi h, in a way ha hey would ha e ollowed he whe e e s/he was bo n. Fi s ,
Jess's childhood c oss-d essing ala med he wo king-class pa en s who we e
in o med by popula ly a ailable psychoanaly ical knowledges,
on
he basis
o
which hey we e able o label he c oss-d essing child di e en and in need
o
ea men .
As
a consequence
Jess
was diagnosed
as
dis u bed, aken o a sho
pe iod in o a men al ins i u ion and o ced o mee a psychia is egula ly.
Con i med wi h he /his new sense
o
di e ence
Jess
encoun e ed he lou ishing
ba cul u e and he well-de eloped oles
o
bu ch and emme lesbians.
The
au ho desc ibes ende ly how he newcome was shown he opes
o
he bu ch
ole.
141
Tuija
Pulkkinen
Jess Goldbe g was bo n
in
1949 and li ed
in
Bu alo.
In
compa ison, o a
Finnish wo king-class gi l bo n in 1949,
say,
in he indus ial own o Tampe e,
a gi l simila ly ond
o
c oss-d essing, he expe ience would p obably ha e been
e y di e en .
I
would ha e been qui e imp obable o pa en s in Finland -
whe e psychoanalysis was
no
common
knowledge - o dis inguish be ween a
dis u bed and a no mal child
on
he basis
o
c oss-d essing. Ex emely e y ew
pa en s om educa ed classes would ha e been likely o do so. A wo king
class
gi l would
no
ha e been labeled di e en , le alone sick in any con incing
enough way o build up an iden i ica o y ca ego y s ong enough o ac ua e a
sea ch o o he s wi h simila expe iences. E en
i
a c oss-d essing gi l would
ha e looked o o he s, he e would
no
ha e been any ba s
o
go o and no
women called 'bu ches' o p o ide a he ly coaching and
o
iden i y- wi h.
The
concep was
no
he e, he e we e no wo ds o his.
In
his con ex , ondness
o
c oss-d essing
was
simply
no
such a ac ha you would build an iden i y on.
Nei he hose p ac icing c oss-d essing no hose obse ing i om ou side we e
en isioning such iden i y.
As
Tuula Ju onen has shown in he s udies, he e we e ce ainly women in
Tampe e in he 1950s
and
ea ly 1960s who had sexual eelings owa d women,
and he e we e ce ainly women who hough
o
hemsel es
as
men
a he han
women. Women who
ook
o e a male ole o a deg ee, and women who o -
med couples wi h women. Bu , hese women did
no
keep con ac wi h each
o he , hey we e
no
conside ed
as
a pa icula g oup. They did
no
o m an
iden i y ei he o hemsel es o o o he s; hey we e
no
called
anyone
name.
I
is
no i ele an ha
Jess
ound he e ms 'lesbian' 'bu ch' and ' emme' in he
en i onmen ,
no
o men ion some
yea s
la e he e m ' anssexual'.
In
a s iking
con as , he women in Tampe e whom
we
a e in e es ed in he e, we e e e ed
some imes by o he s and by hemsel es
as
"like ha ", "such," o
"us
" - e ms
used also o e e o many o he people who we e di e en in a ious o he ways.
Somewha di e en
bu
no
dis u bing in any big
way.
In o he wo ds, he e
was
no ocabula y o exac ly his di e ence. These women would no
be
pe cei ed
as
one g oup, one iden i y
by
hemsel es o by o he s. A espec able emale
school eache and he pa ne would no be likened
o,
o ca ego ized by anyone
as
belonging o he same g oup
as
a couple
o
wo king women in a ac o y, o a
shady cha ac e on he s ee s equen ly a es ed o boo legging, and he e o e
men ioned in police documen s
as
ha ing had sexual ela ionships wi h women.
They we e no
all
e e ed
o
wi h one wo d, le alone wi h a specialized ocabula y
speci y-ing
hei oles in a same
sex
ela ionship un il much la e .
In
p inciple his
ocabula y could ha e
no
e ol ed; i
is
a con ingen his o y.
O
all he possible ways o o ganize "expe ience" ou e ospec i e gaze now
picks up " he lesbian expe ience", " anssexual expe ience" o e en "quee
142
His o y
o
gende
concep s
expe ience"
ha
some
o
hese
women
had
acco ding o
ou
p esen concep s,
bu
hey
did
no
ha e "lesbian" expe ience, " anssexual" expe ience
o
"quee "
expe ience, li e ally aken,
in
hese wo ds.
And
i
we
had
some
o he
concep s
now, hey
would
p obably ha e
had
some
o he
expe ience.
I
is
e y
good
o
be
awa e
o
his,
and
i
is
e y in e es ing o ace
he
s o y
o
he change
o
he
wo ds
ha
made
his possible,
and
he
ac o s
who
changed he wo ds.
As
we
know
he
change
o
discou se e e ed o he e has been s udied o
qui e a while
as
a uni e sal
phenomenon.
We
know
ha
he
language
a ound
he opic
o
'homosexuali y' was shaped
h ough
medical li e a u e
and
ins i u-
ions;
h ough
eligious discou se,
h ough
c iminological discou se,
as
well
as
h ough
li e a u e, no els, poe y,
he
p ess, mo ies,
and
media
in gene al. All
o
his,
in
a ious ways has c ea ed he ocabula y in
which
we
now
alk
abou
19b q expe ience. Bu , apa om his s o y
ha
is
old
as
a gene al/uni e sal/
ansna ional one, he e a e
he
pa icula s o ies
as
well.
I
is
no
enough
o
say
ha
his
is
how
i
has gone gene ally,
i
has also gone
in
di e en ways
in
di e-
en places.
I
is
o
his con ingency
o
he
concep ual amewo k,
and
he
Spiel aum
wi hin
i
ha
I
wan
o
d aw
a en ion. Paying
a en ion
o
he
Spiel aum
in
pa icula
places means
no
jus
being
mind ul
o
"na ional
di e ences in de elopmen ," wi hin he gene al pa e n
o
he s o y
o
concep ual
mode niza ion,
i
also means paying
a en ion
o
he
con ingency
o
he
gene al
s o y, o
he
ac
ha
i could eally ha e gone o he wise. Di e ences
in
he
pa icula s o ies
emind
us
ha
he e
is
no
uni e sal necessi y
behind
he
e ol ing ocabula ies
o
expe ience,
ha
hey a e
no
implan ed in uni e sals
(like
he
human
body
,
o
he
'mode n'),
bu
ha
he e
is
plen y
o
Spiel aum
he e oo,
and
ha
i
is
exac ly his
Spiel aum
ha
we call he poli ics
o
li e.
The e o e paying a en ion o local s o ies
in
e ms
o
he
ocabula y a ound,
say lesbianism, adds o
he
ealiza ion
o
he
ex en
o
concep ual con ingencies
and
exceeds me ely he in e es in he pa icula
s.
he uni e sal.
The
s udy
o
ocabula y a ound lesbianism in Finnish
The
his o ical
s udy
o
ocabula y
a ound
lesbianism in Finnish
is
one
o
hese
pa icula s o ies.
The e
is
se ious
and
in e es ing
wo k
done in his a ea by
se e al schola s, such
as
Ka i Mus ola,
An u
So ainen,
TuulaJu onen
and
Vi a
Hepolampi
who
all
s udy
he
Finnish his o y
o
' he lesbian'. 1
In
d a ing he na a i e
o
he
ocabula y he e a e wo emp a ions
which
a e di icul
o
a oid
bu
which should be a oided:
1)
The
i s one
is
o
hink
ha hese a e he expe iences (lesbian, bisexual,
quee )
ha
ha e always been he e, e e ywhe e, and, hen,
a
di e en places he
ocabula y has e ol ed a a di e en empo o exp ess he expe ience.
The
s o y
in ol es wo p oblems:
he
assump ion
o
an
o iginal expe ience
and
he
143
Tuija
Pulkkinen
assump ion
o
he ine i able p ocess
o
i s exp ession.
The
s o y
o
mode ni y
is
one e sion
o
his,
o
he ine i able
iumph
o
he mode n ocabula y. Ins ead
o
d a ing a s o y o , i s , he lack
o
exp ession o a pa icula expe ience, and,
nex ,
o
inding he exp ession o ha pa icula expe ience, i.e. a s o y
o
coming
o
awa eness, he e
is
a
much
mo e challenging ask: o keep he con ingency, he
Spiel aum
in
mind.
The
s o y
is
much mo e in e es ing
i
you s a he men al
exe cise om
poin
ze o, hinking
ha
i could ha e
no
happened, ha he
ocabula y o he expe ience 'lesbian' could ha e
no
appea ed. Each pa icula
s o y
o
he ocabula ies a ound lesbianism p o ides a chance
o
ela i izing he
uni e sal s o y. Ins ead
o
w i ing he his o y
o
a pa icula place
and
language
as
i
i s p og ess we e p e igu ed in he gene al cou se
o
e en s, eaching he
same poin s jus a li le bi la e , you can keep you
eyes
open o he con ingency
ha
is
p esen a each momen .
You
miss he in e es ing pa ; he ac ual di e ences
i
you jus d a he success s o y. I has become commonplace o see he u u e
as
open and
as
a ield
o
poli ics,
bu
o
see
he pas also
as
poli ically open and
as
a
ield
o
concep ual con es
is
mo e di icul .
Fo example,
i
would
be possible o a gue
on
he basis
o
Ka i Mus ola's
indings
ha
he e y lesbian-like cha ac e o Lucina
Hagman
and he po ayal
o
he ic i e pe son
in
Alma Sode hjel n's ea ly sho s o y bea wi ness o he e
being a clea ly lesbian expe ience be o e any e ms we e a ailable o
i
in
Finnish,
and
ha
his expe ience was he e jus wai ing o ge i s p ope exp ession
in
Finnish.
The
assump ion
is
ha
his
is
one
and
he same hing, me ely adop ing
equi alen exp ession in one pa icula language a e he o he . Howe e ,
as
Ka i emphasizes, he e would
no
ha e been Lucina Hagman's pe sonal s yle,
he e would
no
ha e been hese po ai s depic ing he
as
a pa icula ype
o
a
pe son,
and
he e
would
no
ha e been a desc ip ion
o
he
pe son in Alma
Sode hjelm's no el in hese easily iden i iable "lesbian" e ms,
i
he e
had
no
al eady been somewhe e else he p ecise e ms a ailable o his di e ence. Dis-
cou ses
in
which
Lucina
Hagman
and
he cha ac e
in
he no el absolu ely
made sense
and
we e iden i iable
as
some hing nameable.
Thei
pe o mances
did no ,
so
o speak sp ing om "na u e",
on
he basis
o
hei o iginal p e-
linguis ic "expe ience",
bu
we e buil
on
he in e ac ion wi h o he languages,
as
Mus ola emphasizes.
In
a simila ein, he sexual expe iences
o
he
women
belonging o he eligious
sec
ha
An u
So ainen
s udies we e
no
expe iencing he "same lesbian
expe ience" sp inging om he na u allesbianness
o
hese women,
bu
p obably
some hing al oge he di e en , in elligible in e ms
o
hei e y speci ic eligious
ocabula y.
The
in e es ing aspec
is,
as
So ainen emphasizes, he p ocedu e
o
hei being ead
as
a case
o
"homosexual ac s be ween women", a eading which,
again,
is
con ingen ,
ha
is,
migh ha e
no
happened.
Who
knows how we
144
His o y
o
gende
concep s
now
migh
pe cei e
wha
was
done
i
some
o he
language, some
o he
ocabula y, had been he winning one.
In he eme ging ocabula y he e we e in e es ing peculia i ies oo,
as
Tuula
Ju onen has shown, such
as
he exp ession "Swedish disease" which poin s o
local a he han uni e sal unde s andings. Vi a Hepolampi has also sugges ed
ha he concep ualiza ion
o
and modes
o
exp ession
on
lesbianism
in
Finnish
we e e y di e en om he supposedly uni e sal one,
no
leas because he
mos in luen ial wo ks
o
lesbiana emained un ansla ed and unknown o
Finnish-language eade s.
As
she poin s ou , he linguis ic analysis should
no
s op wi h he p ecise e ms, bu we should pay equal a en ion o he wi hholding
o
such e ms, o he sec ecies and obscu i ies c ea ed h ough omissions
and
e asions.
How
he a ailable concep ualiza ions
suppo
o ail o
suppo
ansla ions
is
a con ingen ac , which, again, opens up new oppo uni ies o
hings going in a di e en
way.
These kind
o
pa icula i ies and con ex s, and he possibili ies o concei ing
he ma e a issue di e en ly,
as
discussed in connec ion o he linguis ic change
o
Finnish gende concep s, go unno iced
i
hey a e dilu ed
o
an unspeci ied
lesbian expe ience which
is
one and he same in he pas
as
in he p esen , o
i
his o ical change
is
seen
as
uni e sal mode niza ion.
2)
The
second emp a ion o dange
in
d a ing he s o y o lesbian ocabula y
is
o exagge a e he uniqueness
o
a language in ela ion o o he languages, he
sel -con ainmen
o
a cul u e
in
iew
o
o he cul u es.
As
Mus ola emphasizes, educa ed women in Finland a he
u n
o
he
19 h
o he
20 h
cen u y we e connec ed in mul iple ways o o he Eu opean cul u es
and languages.
The
supposedly gene ic masculini y
o
someone like Lucina
Hagman
needs o be mapped agains his in ense cul u al exchange. Exac ly
he same holds o he eligious communi y
o
women s udied by So ainen: i
was
an in e na ional sec based in Swi ze land.
As
Ju onen shows in he su ey
o
he
1950's
popula p ess, in e ac ion wi h Scandina ian discou ses played a
c ucial ole in he in oduc ion
o
he new ocabula y, o he ex en ha he
phenomenon
was es ablished in
popula
discou se by he name "Swedish
disease". Hepolampi, who ackles he linguis ic exchange di ec ly in he c ucial
ield
o
ansla ions, aces how signi ica ions in p ac ice a e ca ied o e and
how ce ain signi ica ions ail o come h ough, indica ing disc epancies and
c ea ing openings o e ised meanings. T ansla ion
is
he conc e e si e
o
concep ual change: ha
is
whe e languages mee .
W i ing
his o y
oday
In w i ing his o y, we ope a e in close p oximi y o hese wo dange s
and
emp a ions.
On
he one hand, he e
is
he dange
o
w i ing he s o y
o
gen-
145