Matt’s Chitchats – Uncomfortable words and the vocabulary of desire – A Conversation with Marco Scarcelli

Words create worlds, and in the digital age, they also create and constrain how we love. In this extended second instalment, Matt is back with sociologist Marco Scarcelli to decode the language of modern intimacy.

We often think of "sex" as a biological act, but as Marco explains, it’s a linguistic minefield shaped by society and culture. From the power of euphemisms to the new terminology of online subcultures, this episode explores how the words we choose can define the relationships we have.

In this episode, we translate the unspoken rules:

· "Sex" vs. "Sesso": Why is the English word for sex considered "sexy" and "novel" in Italy, while the Italian word sesso is seen as "dangerous" and "aggressive"?

· Defining the "Sexademic": Marco unpacks this neologism and what it means to carry the label of a scholar working in the "dirty" corners of academia.

· The Grammar of Gamification: What happens when we reduce intimacy to the metrics of sex-tracking apps? We look at how "trophies" and "performance scores" are rewriting the definition of "good sex".

· The Euphemism Trap: Why do we hide behind smooth words like "intimacy" to avoid the reality of "sex" and "sexuality"?

It’s a conversation about the power of naming, the risks of doing research on sex in institutional settings and the new lexicon of love in a digital world.

This episode of Matt’s Chitchats features an academic discussion regarding sex, sexuality, and digital culture. The conversation includes sociological analysis of adult themes, including pornography and online subcultures. Listener discretion is advised.

Matt's Chitchats is a mini-series of The Secret Life of Language, a podcast from the University of Melbourne’s School of Languages and Linguistics. The series is produced by Matt Absalom and Gavin Nebauer. Recorded and mixed by Gavin Nebauer at the Horwood Recording Studio, the University of Melbourne.

The Secret Life of Language is licensed under Creative Commons.