Yallah Y’all: The Development and Acceptance of Queer Jewish Language in Seattle

“Yallah Y’all: The Development and Acceptance of Queer Jewish Language in Seattle” is a University of Washington research study investigating how queer language and practices, such as pronoun adaptation and terms for LGBTQ+ identities, develop in the Seattle Jewish community. It draws on interviews conducted in the fall of 2020 with queer and cis-heterosexual people affiliated with Jewish organizations in Seattle about their experiences learning and using queer Jewish language and how language informs their identities.

The project drew on the researchers’ experiences as queer students at the University of Washington’s Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, navigating heteronormativity in Hebrew grammar lessons, engaging with queer and trans readings of ancient texts, and thinking about contemporary intersections of religion and queerness. When the opportunity arose to conduct a study of queer and trans sociolinguistics, the team decided to focus on Jewish queer culture in Seattle and the successes and difficulties the community had experienced.