bias against women Flashcards
paragraph plans:
- dictionary terms
- health magazines
- job titles (ess) and adverts
- toy adverts
dictionary model paragraph:
One of the most effective ways that sexism and gender discrimination are practised is through the use of language. A reflection of social construct can be seen in the vocabulary used in daily communication, which hold that men should be dominant and assertive, whilst women should exhibit compassionate and gentle tendencies.
That has seemed to promote misogynistic and illiterate definitions of women, as validated by the respected Oxford dictionary. The derogatory terms “Bitch, “Bit”, “Wench” and “Baggage” were among those that were the subject of several petitions held in 2020, to alter the dictionary’s definition of women. The idea that women are inferior to men and should not be treated with the same respect and equality is indicated by the frequent reminder of the negative representation of the word ‘woman’.
As women in day to day life, we are faced with sexist remarks about women and girls, which are then passed off as casual jokes…casual jokes? How are we still being manipulated into brushing off sexist comments; “Get back in the kitchen”, “Ugh woman drivers” as a ‘funny joke’? It is so critical to recognise that the patriarchal system and repeated misogynistic culture harm women, this is all due to the sexist language that is displayed in our society. It seems so unbelievable to me that women in recent years and today still have to struggle for an admirable representation of themselves. Why can’t we see how damaging this is?
health magazine model paragraph:
Take magazine articles as an example of the normalisation of gender bias language. The comparison of a men’s health magazine and a women’s health magazine contribute significantly in creating this never-ending divide between men and women.
The vast emphasis placed on maintaining a small physique and ‘staying sexy’ in the women’s health magazine reinforces the idea that women must fulfil the idealised thin body that is damaging, yet so common in the media. This reinforces the concept that women must be seductive and appear a certain way to attract the attention of males. Contrastingly the men’s health magazine focuses on getting back in shape, workout tips and feeling confident; using words in bold and bulky text, such as power, energy and wealth. Why is it that for women, the topic basically relates to how to have fantastic sex, appear younger, and permanently erase cellulite! All these things don’t shape ‘the perfect woman’, they merely enhance their appearance to make them more appealing to males, as that’s all women are portrayed as; subordinate to men, objects for men. Why? Because women are the inferior gender?
job titles and ads model paragraph:
Despite women entering the workforce over a century ago, leadership positions still favour men. Worryingly, there is still a clear distinction in the industries in which job adverts discriminate against women. Stereotypically, male-focussed industries include science, technicians and finance, whereas advertisements for administrative, domestic and social care jobs frequently feature language directed at women.
Why is the English language still holding grammatical sexism? Waiter is a male waiter; Waitress requires the additional diminutive suffix to indicate a female waiter. A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slight degree of its root meaning, again proving that males are considered superior in the English language as the male classification of waiter seems more authentic and prestigious. When most people think of the job titles ‘Doctor’ and ‘Firefighter’ why is the initial reaction to be surprised when it is a female in this job occupation? Sadly, this is due to impressions that develop as a result of sexist language used in job adverts and other workplace practices.
Male stereotyped words commonly used in job descriptions include; competitive, ambitious and independent, whereas female stereotypical words included; communal, responsible and submissive. This creates a risk because, even while employers may not be targeting male applicants, their advertising strategies contain gender bias language that associates the job to a specific gender. This is a major problem, especially due to the fact that most senior roles are targeted at men through the use of gender specific language. As a result of the patriarchal language used in these advertisements, female employers are frequently put off from applying for these higher-level positions.
toy adverts model paragraph:
Finally, the stereotypes we see in toy marketing express the undeniable differences we can see between the opportunities created for the two genders. These damaging stereotypes don’t just affect men and women, from a young age, children are brought up with an idea of what they should like and the roles they both play in society. At such a young age, these perceptions often stick and contribute to the low number of girls pursuing fields like science and technology that are directed at boys, and men pursuing careers in childcare or as beauticians.
This is all due to the way these roles are advertised using specific characteristics that favour a particular gender, as seen through the use of toy advertisements. In almost every toy shop or toy advert the great amount of disparity between girls and boys toys is immense, ‘girly’ toy adverts often reference physical appearance a great deal more, using words such as pretty, glittery and cute, supporting the preconceptions that girls are emotional, sociable, and caught up in gossip rather than real life concerns. Male narratives contained more aggressive words, and more references to power, destructive action, science and technology, supporting stereotypic masculinity associations that boys are only into action toys and detrimental weapons rather than dolls and animals. I can’t believe that these toys created for young children are still being categorised to a particular gender, simply depending on the language being used.
How often would you see a young boy wandering down the aisle in a toy shop filled with pink barbies, princesses and beauty roleplay? Barely ever! This matter isn’t even down to the fact that boys don’t like ‘girly toys’ it’s simply because of the way these toys are described using language that divides them into two categories, boys have been raised to believe that liking princesses or anything pink is wrong as it’s ‘meant for girls’.
Language guru David Crystal says ‘language has no independent existence apart from the people who use it. I believe what he is trying to relate is that language and its usage are dictated by the people using it. The language used in these toy adverts satisfy the masculine and feminine stereotypes by plastering each gender with conventional language that creates the gender divide we so commonly see today.
