A Sociological Inquiry into Language Use and Power: A Case Study of Lesbian Social Movements

This paper is a response to the question posed at the 72nd Kanto Sociological Society Conference, Theme Session B, held on June 16, 2024: “How do we capture ‘change’ in ‘social norms’? Inclusion and exclusion regarding diversity.” It is a substantial revision of the presentation delivered during the session, with the aim of expanding on points that were not fully explored in the original discussion. The core focus of this paper is to explore sociological methods for describing the transformation of lesbian social movements in Japan. It examines the practices of language use and the power dynamics that organize these practices. While engaging with the session’s discussion of “norm change,” the paper’s primary objective is to propose methods for analyzing these transformations. It begins with an overview of relevant methods and analytical perspectives, followed by a case study analyzing a manifesto published by a specific lesbian group.