»Tässä kohdassa heterorouva nyökkää.» Näkökulma naisparien henkilöhaastatteluissa

• Suvi Uotinen

Abstrakti

Perspective in personal interviews with female couples (englanti)

1/2007 (111)

Perspective in personal interviews with female couples

The article examines the creation of perspective in personal interviews dealing with the relationships and family lives of female couples. The study material consists of six fairly wide-ranging personal interviews with female couples published in different Finnish magazines during 2002-2004. The material is analysed to determine the perspective from which the matters are presented and to verify which of the speakers is actually presenting each of the points. The writer pays particular attention to different forms of reported speech and to the nature of discourse between different groups of people.

The key verbs used in the study material frequently convey a positive and good-humoured approach to the subject. These verbs are used particularly when subjects deviating from hetero-normativity are discussed in the reported speech. Since laughter can be a way of relieving tension when dealing with sensitive matters, journalist narrators reporting their interviews may decide to adopt a positive and good-humoured approach wherever the reported speech deals with a subject thought to be sensitive or difficult from the hetero-normative perspective.

Analysis of the forms of reported speech also revealed that it is often unclear which of the interviewees is speaking at any one time. Occasionally both interviewees are referred to in reporting clauses within both directly and indirectly presented speech, and free direct speech is used in such a way that the identity of the speaker is not always apparent even from the cotext. This could be an indication that the journalist is not, for the most part, concerned with the identities of the interviewees beyond their status as minority group representatives. On the other hand, this approach may serve to give added emphasis to the fact that the interviewees are speaking with, in effect, one voice, as a couple.

The nature of discourse between different groups of people is also discussed. In one of the texts the journalist narrator refers to herself ironically as Mrs. Average Heterosexual and goes on to present her prejudiced views in this guise. Elsewhere though, it appears that negative and prejudiced attitudes and counter arguments are rarely presented directly by the journalist. Instead they are presented as the opinions of imprecisely defined groups of people. In one text, for instance, the journalist asks Why are people scared of homosexuals or lesbians?.

Suvi Uotinen