Date: Tue, 30 May 1995 10:28:53 -0400

From: Aamir Rashid aamir[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CLAM.COM

Subject: Help !!!





Help! I'm a graduate student at Northeastern University and am currently

working on a linguistics project that examines sexual ideology and the

lexicon that reflects it. Specifically, I hypothesize that as a society

changes, language will change accordingly to reflect this shifting

reality. I'm looking for words (sexual slang, etc.) that existed

during the Victorian period

which continue to exist today under roughly the same meaning (homosexual,

queer); words that exist under slightly altered meanings (loose and

straight laced--originally referred to corsets); and words that

no longer exist in our current lexicon (Boston marriage, passionate

friendship, charity girls)

and hope to examine what this reflects about our evolving society and

our attitudes about human sexuality. The third category would be

particularly helpful. I have most of the research for the 20th century

but little on the 19th. The paper is due in roughly three weeks so quick

suggestions, guesses, and stabs in the dark would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!



Sierra Vine : :

svine[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]lynx.neu.edu

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