Queer Spaces, Global Faces: English as Style and Signal in Romanian LGBTQ+ Media

Abstract

With the advent of digital media and communications, the circulation of cultural practices across borders and languages has increased significantly. This is particularly evident within LGBTQ+ communities, where online spaces often serve as crucial sites of identity expression, activism, and community-building. As queer individuals form connections that transcend national boundaries, questions arise about how this transnational and translingual nature is reflected linguistically, especially in non-English speaking contexts. This paper explores how multilingualism manifests in Romanian online spaces geared toward LGBTQ+ individuals, taking into special consideration the role and presence of English as a global lingua franca.
Through a mixed methods analysis of language use on public social media platforms Instagram and Facebook, this study investigates how English and Romanian (and potentially other languages) are used in posts, captions, hashtags, and comment threads. We examine not only the frequency of English usage but also its functions, whether it is used for signaling group belonging, conveying specific identities, or indexing particular forms of cultural capital within the community. The research also considers how this code-switching or language blending may contribute to the shaping of queer identities in a Romanian context.
By focusing on a relatively underexplored linguistic and cultural landscape, this study contributes to ongoing conversations in queer linguistics, sociolinguistics, and media studies. It aims to shed light on how global and local linguistic practices intersect in the digital performances of identity, particularly in marginalized communities navigating both national and global pressures.