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SLAGS & STUDS. Gender Bias in the English Language. Learning Outcomes. To examine male/female terms of reference – the language used about men and women To explore ideas relating to gender & socialisation To learn some new concepts and terminology to apply to exam texts. Task.
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SLAGS & STUDS Gender Bias in the English Language
Learning Outcomes • To examine male/female terms of reference – the language used about men and women • To explore ideas relating to gender & socialisation • To learn some new concepts and terminology to apply to exam texts
Task Reorganise the list of words into different semantic fields, under the separate headings of male and female. E.g one semantic field will be animals FEMALE MALE Bitch Animals Dog Chick Cow
compiled similar inventories of words and found that there were more words for men but also that there were more . She also discovered that many words for women had sexual overtones (220 for a sexually promiscuous female compared to only 20 for a sexually promiscuous male.) Julia Stanley (1977) positive words Therefore, language embodies . sexual inequality argues that it is not an accident that there are more negative words for women. It represents and is rule governed. Words that are ‘marked’ for females undergo a process of pejoration. Muriel Shulz (1975) patriarchal order In many western cultures, the largest dominant group of all consists of white, middle-class men. Historically, power has rested with men and has been handed on to men. A society in which power is distributed in this way is called a . patriarchy
Task Look at the sheet which gives a number of different ‘title’, divided into gender pairings. You may not recognise some of the titles – use a dictionary if you need help. Think about the dictionary definitions but discuss the connotations of the words – think about the impression the words give you. Record these ideas on your handout. You have 5 minutes to complete this task.
LORD LADY GOVERNOR GOVERNESS BARON BARONESS SIR MADAM MASTER MISTRESS KING QUEEN BACHELOR SPINSTER
The male titles have retained the original positive meanings whereas female titles have frequently undergone a downhill slide – often ending with a sexually debased meaning. Words for women assume negative connotations even when they are designated the same state or condition as they do for men e.g. ‘bachelor’/’spinster’. Keeping his options open This is known as Lexical Asymmetry – the words are unequal (asymmetrical) in their associations and connotations. Rejected, undesirable, on the shelf
Can you give a female equivalent for each of the professional titles? Actor Waiter Priest Manager Mayor Usher Steward Doctor What is the female equivalent?
Marked and unmarked terms • When women move into a profession they do not gain a ‘noun’. Instead, the male terms are converted to female equivalents by the addition of a bound morpheme, such as ‘-ess’ or ‘ette’ or by the qualifier ‘lady’ doctor Lady doctor It is suggested that male roles are more important because the standard, unmarked term refers to them. Julia Stanley refers to this as women having Negative Semantic Space
He/Man Language In groups, discuss the gender issues in each of the following examples:
This seems to show that there is a bias in the English Language in favour of males. refers to this as . Anne Bodine (1975) Androcentric language ‘Man’/’Mankind’ is always a generic term but this has been criticised because it implies that men are more important. ‘Deer’ is a generic term for a species – male deer are ‘stags’ and female deer are ‘does’. ‘Man’ refers to the species as a whole and males – this is why the term man has been labelled the . False generic ‘Humankind’ is an alternative that is increasingly used.
There is evidence that the word ‘man’ naturally includes ‘women’ from as early as 1553 when it was considered more neutral to place the male before the female – men and women, husband and wife, boys and girls, son and daughter etc. male superiority is reflected in the structure of the language, Exceptions to the pattern: Ladies and gentlemen Mother and father Suggests that bringing up the children is primarily the role of the female parent.
Generic ‘he’ The masculine pronoun ‘he’ is used generically to refer to both males and females. Grammarians of the 19th century argued that the use of ‘he’ included women on grammatically objective grounds. In 1850 an Act of parliament legislated that ‘he’ stood for ‘she’ in texts. Some use ‘they’ although this is considered grammatically incorrect.
