intransitive "represent"

[Margaret Lee]

Yes, I meant to also send it to the list.

- Mai Kuha <mkuha at bsuvc.bsu.edu> wrote:
> Thanks! Very interesting. Did you mean to send this message just to
> me,
> instead of the list?  Others might be interested too.
>
> -Mai
>
> On Wed, 13 Mar 2002, Margaret Lee wrote:
>
> > This was spoken by Queen Latifah's character in the 1996 movie
> "Set
> > it Off" when she and her three female friends successfully robbed
> the
> > bank. On a recent Ricki Lake show on large size models, one of
> them
> > (African American) said, "You've seen us on the runway, you've
> seen
> > us in print, you've got to admit, big girls represent."
> >
> >
> > --- Mai Kuha <mkuha at BSUVC.BSU.EDU> wrote:
> > > Last night, I unintentionally ended up semi-watching the Fear
> > > Factor again
> > > (I was working on something and didn't bother to get up to turn
> the
> > > TV off
> > > when this show came on), and heard an intransitive use of
> > > "represent".
> > >
> > > This probably isn't news to anyone else, but, just in case,
> these
> > > are the
> > > examples: a contestant who is one of the Backstreet Boys (it
> was a
> > > celebrity Fear Factor) explained twice that he has to
> "represent
> > > for the
> > > Backstreet Boys" or face dire social consequences. On a
> previous
> > > show,
> > > when there was only one male contestant left to compete against
> two
> > > women,
> > > the host told him: "You're the only guy left! You have to
> > > represent!"
> > >
> > > A search on "intransitive represent" at google.com turns up an
> > > illuminating prescriptive rant which suggests that this use is
> at
> > > least a
> > > few years old. What I'm curious about is that all the examples
> I've
> > > seen
> > > or heard were produced by men. Has anyone heard a woman say she
> has
> > > to
> > > represent?
> > >
> > > -Mai
> > >
> > > _________________________________
> > > Mai Kuha                mkuha at bsuvc.bsu.edu
> > > Department of English   (765) 285-8410
> > > Ball State University
> >
> >
> > =====
> > Margaret G. Lee, Ph.D.
> > Associate Professor - English and Linguistics
> >  & University Editor
> > Department of English
> > Hampton University, Hampton, VA 23668
> > (757)727-5769(voice);(757)727-5084(fax);(757)851-5773(home)
> > e-mail: margaret.lee at hamptonu.edu   or   mlee303 at yahoo.com
> >
> > __________________________________________________
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>
> _________________________________
> Mai Kuha              mkuha at bsuvc.bsu.edu
> Department of English (765) 285-8410
> Ball State University
>


=====
Margaret G. Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor - English and Linguistics
 & University Editor
Department of English
Hampton University, Hampton, VA 23668
(757)727-5769(voice);(757)727-5084(fax);(757)851-5773(home)
e-mail: margaret.lee at hamptonu.edu   or   mlee303 at yahoo.com

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