Lesson 1 Flashcards
Is/are words, phrases, and expressions that unnecessarily differentiate between women and men or exclude, trivialize, or diminish either.
Gender-Specific Language or sexist language
Nonsexist language, according to Marilyn Schwartz in Guidelines for Bias-Free Publishing, “refers to language that avoids gender stereotyping.”
Gender- Neutral Language
However, use of masculine reference is NO LONGER considered the preferred form
Examples:
* Men/Guys
* He/Him/His
* Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms.
* He Or She
* Manmade
* Chairman/Layman
* Lady Doctor/Male Nurse
* Office Girls/Family Ma
Attempted to construct non-sexist alternative
St Hildegarde of Bingen- 11th century
Paid attention to sexist language
The Revolution, 1868-1871
Challenged of generic use of man
Simone de Beauviour, 1952
LANGUAGE EQUALITY
- Prescriptivism
- Descriptivism
(_ by society) Linguistic practices and preferences are based on society elites, rather than any natural or objective notion of correctness.
Prescriptivism
Different language varieties are equal in linguistic terms, and it is wrong to label some varieties as inferior.
Descriptivism
SEXIST LANGUAGE
-Created predominantly masculine impressions
-Discouraged women from applying for jobs
-Discouraged students from visiting advisors
-Impacted negatively on business
-Impacted on interpretation, comprehension and recall -Perceived as sexist
-Understood as referring
-to men only
Communication styles
O
*report
*independence
*status
*dominate talk time
*Interrupt frequently
*focus on content and task
+
*rapport
*connection, cooperation
*intimacy
*support
*tentative
*compliments
Management styles
O
*authority
* give orders
*dominate
+
*part of team
*negotiate
* listen actively
*empathize
- Does not refer to the masculine or feminine labels given to nouns, as, unlike languages such as French and Spanish, English does not have grammatical gender. Instead, _ in this instance means
- Language that carries a bias towards a specific sex or gender.
GENDERED LANGUAGE
*The use of gendered language can often lead to gender inequality, which creates an unfair bias towards a certain gender. This can result in harmful stereotypes which cause discrimination and portray a negative view of a certain gender. These stereotypes and negative views are often directed at women.
Language And Gender Inequality
Below are some examples of gendered language:
Mr. and Mrs
Gender-biased job titles
Gendered Greetings
‘Mr’ can be used to refer to any man, regardless of his marital status. However, there are different terms to use for a woman, depending on her marital status. ‘Miss’ is used if she is not married. ‘Mrs’ is used if she is married. ‘Ms’ is a more neutral term for women who do not wish to disclose their marital status.
Mr. and Mrs
Gender roles were followed more strictly and there was a clearer divide between the expected roles for men and women. Men were seen as the main earners, whereas women looked after the children and carried out unpaid domestic work, like cooking and cleaning.
Gender-biased job titles
Some gender-biased job titles include:
*Policeman
*Fireman
*Postman
*Chairman
*Cameraman
- How many times have you heard “Ladies and gentlemen” or “Hello sir/madam”? Although they are used to address both male and females and are not biased towards one specific gender at a time, these _are still gendered. Because of this, they are not inclusive to people who do not associate with those binary terms.
Gendered Greetings
EXAMPLES OF GENDER-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE:
Gender-Neutral Job Titles
Gender-Neutral Greetings
Gender Differences In Language Use
In today’s society, more job titles either have a female equivalent or are gender-neutral. _ titles can be seen as better as they do not carry a bias towards any sex or gender. Using these titles helps to limit negative stereotypes surrounding certain jobs and reduces inequality faced by women, as anyone is able to use them, not just men.
Gender-Neutral Job Titles
Examples of gender-neutral job titles include:
*Police Officer (instead of Policeman)
*Fire Fighter (instead of Fireman)
*Postal Worker (instead of Postman)
*Chair/Chairperson (instead of Chairman)
*Camera Operator (instead of Cameraman)
- Instead of using greetings such as ladies and gentlemen or sir/madam, it is becoming more common to use neutral greetings such as everyone or folks to be more inclusive towards non- binary people.
Gender-Neutral Greetings
*It has been argued that men and women use language in different ways, which reflects how they view themselves in society and how others perceive them.
* In general, use terms for jobs and roles that can apply to any gender. Such language aims to treat people equally and is inclusive of people whose gender identity is not strictly male or female.
Gender Differences In Language Use
- In general, use this term for any gender. Use actress for a woman only in stories about the Oscars, Emmys or Tonys, all of which use the word actress in their awards.
Actor
The terms alumnus (s.) and alumni (pl.) for men, and alumna (s.) and alumnae (pl.) for women, are acceptable. If a gender-neutral term is desired, alum or alums is acceptable.
Alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae, alum
Not businessman /businesswoman.
Business owner, business person
Not chairman/chairwoman.
Chair, chairperson
Not ladies and gentlemen.
colleagues, guests, all, friends, folks
Not manpower.
crew, staff, workforce, workers
The terms _ are acceptable because of their common use on college campuses. If a gender-neutral term is desired, first-year student is acceptable.
freshman/freshmen
Not mankind.
humanity, humankind, humans, human beings, people
Not man-made.
human-made, human-caused, artificial, synthetic
Not mailman.
mail carrier
Not policeman, policewoman or patrolman.
police officer
Not to man.
staff, run, operate
Not co-ed
student
The terms _ are acceptable because of their common use on college campuses. If a gender-neutral term is desired, lower division/upper division undergraduate is acceptable.
upperclassman/underclassman
are preferred. Congressman and congresswoman are acceptable because of their common use. Do not use congressperson.
representative, representative, member of Congress
LANGUAGE AND GENDER THEORIES
A. Difference Theory
B. Dominance Theory
C. Deficit Theory
D. Diversity Theory
- The _ simply aims to prove that men and women do speak in different ways. But, this does not mean that one way is better than the other. A supporter of this theory is Deborah Tannen. In her book, You Just Don’t Understand (1990), Tannen explores these differences.
A. Difference Theory
Difference Theory Summary of findings
MEN
*See communication to gain status
* Are more independent
*Try to find problems
*Talk briefly about facts
* Are more direct and give more demands
* More likely to express opinions and argue against others
WOMEN
*Communicate to gain the support of others
*Are more dependent on others
*Try to find sympathy from others
*Talk lots about their feelings
*Are more indirect and give suggestions
*Less likely to cause conflict
- The _ is the idea that the language men use is superior and holds more _ in society, whereas the language women use is seen as inferior. This theory could be seen as problematic as it suggests that men have more authority over women, and women should be submissive. Some supporters of this theory include linguists such as Don Zimmerman, Candace West, Pamela Fishman and Dale Spender. In 1975, Zimmerman and West conducted a study titled Sex Roles, Interruptions and Silences in Conversation (1975). In the study, they recorded 31 conversations between two people at a time. Ten of these conversations were between just men, 10 between just women, and 11 between both men and women.
B. Dominance Theory
B. Dominance Theory Summary of findings
Men
*Spoke more in general.
*Interrupted women more.
*Didn’t let women speak.
*Responded to women in a minimal and delayed way.
*Rarely interrupted other men.
Women:
* Were silent more, and for longer periods of time.
*Only interrupted other women, not men.
*The _ is the idea that the language men use is seen as the standard, whereas the language women use differs from the standard and is seen as insufficient. This theory could be seen as sexist as it portrays women as weaker and of lower status, highlighting the inequality faced by women. Supporters of this theory include Otto Jespersen and Robin Lakoff.
C. Deficit Theory
C. Deficit Theory Summary findings
WOMEN
* Talk a lot.
*Use simpler words as they have smaller vocabularies.
*Use more false starts and unfinished sentences because they speak before they think.
*Exaggerate more.
*Use too many adjectives and adverbs.
*Are emotional, not grammatical.
*Are more indirect, so are not as effective as men.
MEN
*Have larger vocabularies and use more difficult words.
*Are in charge of establishing new words in the English language.
Below are some of the findings from Robin Lakoff’s book, Language and Women’s Place (1975):
Backchanneling “Uh-huh”, “Mm”, “Yeah”
Hedging. “Sort of”, “Kind of”
Intensifiers “Very”, “So”
Apologies. “I’m sorry, but…”
Tag questions. “You leave here, right?” “You sing, don’t you?”
Modal Verbs. “Could”, “Should”, “Ought to”
Wh- Imperatives. “Why don’t we…”
Indirect Commands. “It’s cold in here” indirectly means: close the window
Diminutives. “Honey”, “Sweetie”, “Darling”
Women may use these things more than men BUT they use less:
*Slang.
*Swear words.
* Insults.
*The _ theory argues that there is a difference between sex and gender. It also suggests that the sex we are assigned at birth does not affect the language we use. Instead, the roles we have in society and the way we interact socially influences our language. Supporters of this theory include Deborah Cameron and Judith Butler.
*Deborah Cameron believes that difference is a myth. Her research takes inspiration from contemporary theorists who challenge the idea that men and women use different language.
D. Diversity Theory
Is language that is biased towards a certain sex or gender. It can cause and help maintain gender inequality.
Gendered language
Does not carry a bias towards a certain sex or gender. It is inclusive.
Gender-neutral language
*The focuses on the idea that men and women communicate in different ways.
Difference theory
*The focuses on the dominance of the language men use, as opposed to women.
Dominance theory
*The focuses on men’s language being the standard, and women’s language being insufficient as it differs from the standard.
Deficit theory
- The focuses on the idea that the sex we are assigned at birth does not affect our language use, but our place in society and the way we socialize does.
Diversity theory
Frequently Asked Questions about Language and Gender
- What is the relationship between language and gender?
- What is the meaning of language and gender?
- What is language and gender theory?
- What is the study of language and gender?
- Why is language and gender important?
- What is the relationship between language and gender?
Language and gender are closely tied together, as the language we use reflects our gender roles in society.
- What is the meaning of language and gender?
Language and gender refers to the study of the language used by men and women, and how they differ to reflect someone’s position in society.
- What is language and gender theory?
A language and gender theory is a set of ideas that looks at the similarities and differences between the language men and women use.
- What is the study of language and gender?
The study of language and gender focuses on the correlation between the language we use and our gender.
- Why is language and gender important?
Language and gender are important as the language we use reflects the way we view ourselves and others in society.
