# Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference

The Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference is an international conference for LGBT linguistics and other related queer language research and discourse studies. It provides a place for emerging queer linguistics scholarship. The conference is the longest continually running LGBT studies conference in the US.
In 2017 the conference expanded to a Summer Institute with 10 days of class discussion, research opportunities and informal conversations exploring topics of current interest in language and sexuality studies, queer linguistics, and various lavender language themes.

## History

The Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference was founded in 1993 by William Leap to coincide with the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. At the time, research on these topics was considered marginal within linguistics, and the conference was a key place for researchers to come together to discuss issues in the field. By the 20th conference, there were over 80 presentations and 150 attendees. The conference was host yearly at American University in Washington, DC until 2017 when the conference began to move each year.
A meta-synthesis of conference abstracts by Paul Baker and published in Milani's chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Language and Society found early work presented at the conference focused on the existence of "gay language" such as Polari and "lesbian language". In line with the trajectory of the field, more recent work has focused on how various linguistic features index different identities.
The Journal of Language and Sexuality (though not officially linked to LavLang) is closely affiliated with the conference. It was an established venue to publish queer linguistics research.

## Conferences

| Number | Year | Date | Host University | City | Country | Notes |
| 1st | 1993 | April | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 2nd | 1994 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 3rd | 1995 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 4th | 1996 | September | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | Keynote speakers: Ellen Lewin, Charles Nero, Deborah Tannen, Riki Ann Wilchins |
| 5th | 1997 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 6th | 1998 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 7th | 1999 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 8th | 2000 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 9th | 2002 | February | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 11th | 2003 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 12th | 2004 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 13th | 2005 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 14th | 2006 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 15th | 2008 | | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 16th | 2009 | February | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | Plenaries: Aren Aizura and Mary Weismantel |
| 17th | 2010 | April | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | Plenaries/Special Presentations: Gibran Guido, Ellen Lewin, Andrew Tucker |
| 18th | 2011 | February | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | Plenaries: Scott Kiesling, Carlos Decena, Sharif Mowlabocus |
| 19th | 2012 | February | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | Special Events: Reporting and Writing Queer Temporalities (Panel discussion) Voices from a Chorus(featuring Paula Bresnan Gibson) 1 Girl, 5 Gays and LGBTQ Discourses in School Settings (featuring Philip Tetro) A Reading from “The Bar Notebook” (featuring Bonnie Morris) |
| 20th | 2013 | February | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | Special Events: Master Class with Tom Boellstorff 20th Annual Conference Reception with AU Pride |
| 21st | 2014 | February | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | Special Events: Critical Discourse Analysis Workshop with David Peterson Premier of Reinterpreting Bukovac (A Documentary Film) “American Orientation: Interpellation of the Gay Male Subject in Literary Narratives in Taiwan” with Ta-Wei Chi |
| 22nd | 2015 | February | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | Plenary: Rusty Barrett |
| 23nd | 2016 | February | American University | Washington, D.C. | United States | |
| 24th | 2017 | April | University of Nottingham | Nottingham | United Kingdom | Keynote speakers: Dr Helen Sauntson, York St John University (UK) and Professor Paul Baker, Lancaster University (UK). |
| 25th | 2018 | April | Rhode Island College | Providence, Rhode Island | United States | Keynote speakers: Mie Hiramoto (National University of Singapore) Margot Weiss (Wesleyan University) and Lal Zimman (University of California, Santa Barbara). |
| 26th | 2019 | May | University of Gothenburg | Gothenburg | Sweden | Keynote Speakers: Erika Alm, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Mons Bissenbakker, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Rodrigo Borba, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Holly Cashman, University of New Hampshire, USA, Thabo Msibi, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| 27th | 2021 | May | California Institute of Integral Studies | San Francisco | United States | Keynote speakers: Jack Halberstam, Columbia University and Elizabeth Freeman, University of California at Davis Originally planned to be hosted in 2020 in San Francisco at California Institute of Integral Studies, the conference was postpoponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually moved to an online format in 2021. |
| 28th | 2022 | May | University of Catania | Catania | Italy | Keynote speakers: J Calder, Adriana Di Stefano, Busi Makoni, Pietro Maturi, Tommaso M. Milani, Eva Nossem |
| 29th | 2023 | March | Boise State University | Boise | United States | Keynote speakers: Nikki Lane, Luhui Whitebear, and a Plenary Roundtable "Lavender Languages Past, Present, and Future" |
| 30th | 2024 | August | University of Brighton | Brighton | England | Keynote Speakers: William Leap, Jenny Davis, Veronika Koller |

## Lavender Languages Summer Institute

The Lavender Language Institute, a summer program that Leap founded at Florida Atlantic University in 2017, offers training in queer linguistics to undergraduates, grad students, and others interested in language and sexuality studies.
| Number | Year | Date | Host University | City | State | Notes |
| 1st | 2018 | June | Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton | Florida | |
| 2nd | 2019 | June | Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton | Florida | |
| 3rd | 2021 | June | Florida Atlantic University | | | Originally planned to be hosted in 2020 in person at Florida Atlantic University the conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually moved to an online format in 2021. |
| 4th | 2022 | June | Florida Atlantic University | | | |
| 5th | 2023 | June | Florida Atlantic University | | | |
| 6th | 2024 | June | California Institute of Integral Studies | | | |