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Lury, C.

Figure: Concept and Method, 2022

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This chapter discusses three figures of speech: the organization Not Iin Our Name (NION), #JeSuisCharlie and #MeToo and describes the ways in which, as figures of speech, they constitute persons through a consideration of the use of names, pronouns and numbers. Concerns include whether the person so constituted is singular or plural, how participation in the figure of speech is configured, whether the persons are recognized to be ‘proper’, and whether and how the persons can speak the truth. The conclusion brings these concerns together in the proposal that what distinguishes the persons of #JeSuisCharlie and #MeToo is that they are ‘stuck in the middle’ with ‘People Like You’.

Keywords:

Figures of speech; Pronouns; #JeSuisCharlie; #MeToo; Inclusion; Exclusion; Belonging

Lury, C. ‘Figures of Speech: Stuck in the Middle with ‘People Like You’.’ In Figure: Concept and Method, edited by Celia Lury, William Viney, and Scott Wark. PalgraveMacmillan, in press.