Generic Forms and Cognition (PC) Flashcards
What is the generic term and pronoun mainly used?
Man (term)
He (pronoun)
e.g. “mankind” and “anyone can choose to vote if he wishes”
What does the generic term do?
It refers to everyone, however using them can make women seem invisible as the term “ignores” them.
When the generic term is used what are women said to be occupying?
The negative semantic space
What are marked terms?
Terms in which reveal a person’s gender
e.g wife, fireman
What are the new terms in place of marked terms called?
Unmarked terms
What are unmarked terms?
Terms in which do not reveal a person’s gender.
What is common of marked terms expressing a female gender?
They have a feminising suffix
“actress”, “usherette”, “comedienne”
What does the feminising suffix suggest?
That the male equivalent is the original and that the female version is inferior.
What are generalisations?
Where no sex-reference is present but the writing does have a specific group in mind.
What is non-parallel treatment?
Where there is a significant difference in the ways in which men and women are portrayed
Who came up with non-parallel treatment?
Miller and Swift
How many areas are there of non-parallel treatment
4
First area of non-parallel treatment
describing:
women by appearance
men by achievement
Second area of non-parallel treatment
describing:
women by their relationship to men
not describing men by their relationship to women
Third area of non-parallel treatment
Referring to:
women as “girls”
men as “men” (the adult label)
Fourth area of non-parallel treatment
Using fixed collocations where the male label occurs before the female equivalent
e.g. “he and she”, “husband and wife”
What is lexical asymmetry?
Where a pair of words appears to have similar meaning but aren’t equally balanced
e.g “bachelor” and “spinster” - both unmarried names
What is order of precedence?
Placing the male term first, suggesting they are of higher status
e.g. “his and hers”
What are patronising terms?
Word which are used by speakers which imply superiority over the person they’re talking to
e.g. “love”, “dear”
What is feminine inanimate?
Where female pronouns are used to refer to objects such as cars and ships. This suggests male ownership
What are insulting usages?
Where there are many insulting words for females, but no equivalents for males
What do insulting usages often do to women?
Compare them to animals e.g. “bitch”, “cow”
or have sexual associations e.g. “slut”, “whore”
What are attempted changes
Where words using the male generic term have been changed to use a female equivalent
e.g. “herstory” instead of “history”
