Formulating dispositions in coming out advice

Abstract

This article considers the advice found on six internet sites written for people who are considering coming out. The article uses Edwards’ (1994, 1995, 1997) script formulation theory to examine how the grammatical choices by the writers formulate the dispositions of the main actors in the texts: the advice seeker, LGB individuals, and the people to whom they come out. The writers’ formulations are shaped by a view of coming out as the act of a reasonable, emotionally healthy, moral and loving lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) individual. It is argued that one of the purposes of these texts is to normalize coming out as a routine event and as a rational course of action for an LGB individual. Furthermore, the use of script formulation is seen to be characteristic of written texts and a strategy by which advice writers can legitimize themselves as qualified to give advice.