| Abstract [eng] |
The present thesis focuses on the metaphorical X-phemismistic expressions in sex and relationship advice columns meant for men and women. The aim of this study is to examine the metaphorical Xphemism use in the discourse of advice giving and how the taboo topic of sex is conceptualized when targeting male and female audiences. The methodology of the paper includes the combination of close reading and Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU). The results of the study show that women’s dataset has a higher number of X-phemistic metaphors, yet the male corpus is more characteristic of lexical variation. The analysis reveals that the metaphorical X-phemisms exemplify the contrasting priorities in men’ and women’s advice columns, in addition to proving to be an effective tool to politely (or impolitely) refer to the taboo and reflect the rich complexity of human sexuality. |
