Power bottom, gay versatile, top persistant, and other borrowings from English in erotic biographies of gay and bisexual porn stars on French adult websites
Power bottom, gay versatile, top persistant, and other borrowings from English in erotic biographies of gay and bisexual porn stars on French adult websites

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines lexical borrowings from English in the erotic biographies of gay and bisexual pornactors available on French websites. The study adopts an anthropological perspective, drawing on David Le Breton’sconcept of the ‘liberated’ body and Marie-Anne Paveau’s typology of pornographic discourse. Three main types ofborrowings have been identified: full borrowings (e.g., bareback), hybrid borrowings (e.g., hardeur), and seman-tic calques (e.g., versatile). The analysis reveals that full borrowings are predominant in the corpus, particularlyin conceptual and lexical anaphors referring to specific antecedents, namely male porn stars. Moreover, theseborrowings serve various functions in constructing the representations and identities of porn actors within thediscourse examined, reflecting both their physical attributes, social roles, and sexual preferences. The investigationemphasizes the significance of borrowings as one of the key mechanism for enriching the French language, espe-cially in the context of persuasive discourse, which mirrors the evolution of societies and contemporary culturaland social phenomena. Ultimately, the study may contribute to the understanding of how linguistic borrowingsshape the portrayal of marginalized groups in media and influence the broader discourse on sexuality and identity.

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