Week 4a - Language and Sexism (Non-essay) Flashcards
Define sexism
- Attitudes, beliefs and practices of inequalities that exist between men and women
- Unjust discrimination against one sex relative to another
Who spoke about sexism and when?
Key points
Cameron 1992
Expressions that exclude, insult or trivialise women, but also men
What are some examples of sexist language?
- Derivative female endings eg. -ess in waitress
- Occupational stereotyping
- Marked forms and assymetries
- Lexical gaps eg. emasculate used
- Terms of address eg. Ms.
- Women defined in terms of physical, family, home and attractiveness
Define overt sexism
Clear and unequivocal evidence of sexism
Define indirect sexism
Working through humour and playfulness
Define retro sexism (date and person)
Williamson 1986
Ironically draws on older forms of sexism
Who wrote man-made language?
Key points
Dale Spender
1980
- Language isn’t neutral
- Language shapes ideas
- Males have produced language, thought and reality
- Women have to see from a male viewpoint
- Language is cause of oppression
Sexism as symptomatic
- Instances of sexist language = unintentional rudeness stemming from ignorance
- Can be rectified by reforms, guides
- Surface changes won’t fix deep issues
Sexism as cause
- Language is the cause of oppression (Spender)
Feminist lang. planning:
- Creation of a language that is inclusive
- UN changing job titles, occupational terms
What was said in response to language change?
Who, when?
Romain 1999
- Language will change when attitudes change, society must change first
Case study of Ms.
Who, when?
Pauwels 1987/2003
Use of Ms. in Australia
1986 20% used Ms.
1996 37% used Ms.
Used by those outside of trad. categories eg. married, unmarried
Men make few attempts to use Ms.
Who spoke about language reformers?
Key points
Schwarz 2003
- Replace Miss/Mrs with new title
- Replace Mr with two different titles
- Introduce one title for adults altogether
- Abolish title
Opinions on Ms.
- Hard to pronounce
- For feminists or lesbians
- Indicates age
- ‘Hate’
Who asked women about titles and surnames, when?
Key points
Mills 2003
- Email questionnaire for academic women
- 36 married women, 1 1 kept name, 18 changed to husbands name, 2 changed completely, 5 double-barrelled
What were the attitudes towards women’s titles and surnames?
Who, when?
Mills 2003
- Taking husbands name for aesthetic reasons, done thing at time
- Some use different names for home vs. work
- Women kept own name to signal independence
- Mrs indicates ‘grown-upness’
