Face-Threatening Acts across Binary and Nonbinary Gender Dynamics in Old Norse–Icelandic Literature

Abstract

This article explores the role that gender plays in verbal exchanges in Old Norse–Icelandic literature. A total of 708 examples of face-threatening acts (FTAs) were collected across eleven sagas and two Eddic poems. FTAs were organized, first, according to the gender dynamic of the verbal aggression (male-against-male, male-against-female, etc.) and second, according to the type of face—quality, social identity, and relational—under attack. Evidence suggests that certain types of face are associated with certain gender identities in Old Norse–Icelandic literature. A subsequent examination of threats to face in nonbinary gender dynamics (in which at least one participant self-identifies as nonbinary) suggests that FTAs against nonbinary characters accord with gender rather than biological sex. These observations aid in the understanding of gender identity in Old Norse literature and offer a point of comparison across cultural and historical boundaries.