Challenging Gender Roles Through Language Diversity

Paper 2 Section A – Language Diversity and Change Language & Gender

The BIG Question: Are gender roles a product of society? Keywords: Gender, Sex, Representation, Stereotypes, sexism, Misogyny, Misandry What is GENDER? What is SEX?

Challenge Yourself: To evaluate the idea that men and women’s language is different. Minimum Expectations: To explore and discuss gender representation and form clear opinions.

The Difference… ‘Sex’ refers to biological differences; chromosomes, hormonal profiles, internal and external sex organs. ‘Gender’ describes the characteristics that a society or culture defines as masculine or feminine. Gender differences are those that we can attribute to our socialisation. These are differences that are caused by our upbringing, our interactions with our society and culture and our environment. Sex differences are defined by our biology So how we use our language is not defined by our biology but by our socialisation and our ‘gender’ (apparently!)

Research What is the name you would give to each colour? 1. 3. 2. Challenge: This term we are studying LANGAUGE DIVERSITY – what on earth might this have to do with LANGUAGE DIVERSITY? Challenge 2: Look around the room. Are your names for the colours the same or different to your peers? WHY might they be similar or diverse? For example – can you apply a theorist like BRECHLITZ or PARROTT to your ideas?

From that exercise, do YOU think there is a difference in the way male members of the class described the colours to the way the females in the class described the colours? Write your ideas on your white board. Challenge: If you think so – explain WHY there might be differences. If you thought not – explain WHY there aren’t any dissimilarities.

What do you think? AGREE___________________________________________DISAGREE In all male conversations, there are certain things you can expect to see in men’s language. In all female conversations, there are certain things you can expect to see in women’s language. There are some words that are used to describe men/women that I find problematic. I use some words to describe women that I would not use to describe men and vice versa. I can usually tell if a text/BBM/IM has been written by a male or a female. Men and women use language differently to each other.

Typically Masculine v Typically Feminine Gender roles: where do they come from? What did you discover through your homework?

Representations of Men • How are men represented? • Strength (physical & intellectual) • Power • Sexual attractiveness • Physique • Independence

Representations of Women • How are women represented? • Beauty (within narrow conventions) • Size/Physique (within narrow conventions) • Sexuality (as expressed by?) • Emotional (not intellectual) • Relationships (not independence)

What about speech?

Can a text be gendered? -Were the texts WRITTEN by a man or a woman? -You also need to say why you have come to a conclusion. What did you discover through your group work?

What about the exam? 2hrs 30mins

Evaluate the idea that spoken interactions between men and women are characterised by miscommunication Evaluate the idea that women traditionally have used submissive language in their discourse with men Evaluate the idea that the English language is inherently sexist. Evaluate the idea that men’s language is more purposeful and focused than women’s. Evaluate the idea that male and female language in fact has little difference. Evaluate the idea that men use language to demonstrate power. Evaluate the idea that women’s language is emotional whereas men’s language is purposeful. Evaluate the idea that men and women speak differently. Other possible questions…

Evaluate the idea that spoken interactions between men and women are characterised by miscommunication Evaluate the idea that women traditionally have used submissive language in their discourse with men Evaluate the idea that the English language is inherently sexist. Evaluate the idea that men’s language is more purposeful and focused than women’s. Evaluate the idea that male and female language in fact has little difference. Evaluate the idea that men use language to demonstrate power. Evaluate the idea that women’s language is emotional whereas men’s language is purposeful. Other possible questions…

What about theory? A theory is something that cannot be completely proved to be true. There may be a lot of evidence to prove the theory, but there will also be evidence that disproves the theory. This is why it is important to evaluate. Evaluating means weighing up: how much evidence do you think there is to prove the theory? Do you therefore mostly agree or disagree? Examiners will be looking for you using theories from linguists to weigh up what your own personal opinion is. You do not have to agree with anyone else as long as you have evidence!

“Evaluate the idea that men and women speak differently.” AO2 – Theorists/ Ideas At the moment, we are HERE. How do we work our way up to Level 2 or 3? Write down your idea on your whiteboard. BRING ON THE THEORISTS AND IDEAS!

Challenge Yourself: To investigate whether or not language and gender theory is still relevant. To find the evidence to challenge those that aren’t. Minimum Expectations: To investigate the differences in language and gender

You are going to conduct some Language and Gender Research Experiments

Experiment 1 • A survey of colour identification • Lakoff found that women use more precise colour terms. You should bring in a range of items – about 12 – of different colours including some of indeterminate colour. You will need to conduct a survey of male and female staff/students requesting the names for the colours of the items.

Experiment 2 • Women use fewer technical expressions. • Record a range of men and women describing one or more of the following. How to: • Put a new fuse in a plug • Make scrambled egg • Change a car tyre • Use a photocopier

Experiment 3 • Uncertainty and hesitation in women’s language • Record a mixed gender conversation from TV or radio and record the numbers of: • Interruptions by men • Interruption by women • Tag questions by both men and women • Back channelling by both men and women

Experiment 4 • Names we call each other • Devise a questionnaire listing a range of names men and women call each other (both positive and negative). Ask what connotations these words have and why they are used.

Experiment 5 • Women use fewer expletives than men • Devise a questionnaire listing a range of expletives and ask both men and women of various ages whether they would use these words and where.

The BIG Question: Is there gender bias in the English language? Keywords: Gender, Sex, Representation, Sexism, Stereotypes, Misogyny How can the following be possible? A woman was driving with her son, when the car was struck by another vehicle. The woman was killed instantly, but her son, injured, was rushed to hospital. The theatre nurse looked at the surgeon, gasped and said: But this is my son.

Challenge Yourself: To challenge and form our own ideas about gender bias and stereotypes Minimum Expectations: To explore gender bias and stereotypes that are said to exist in our language

Men V Women • Working in your groups: • Divide your A3 sheet in half – one side for promiscuous girls/women, the other side for promiscuous boys/men. • List as many words you can think of to refer to each group –To help you – think of terms you would use to describe your males & females you dislike! • NOW, turn over and list as many terms as you can think of for ‘nice’ girls/ females and ‘nice’ boys/ males. You have three minutes to think about male terms first... You now have three minutes to think about female terms...

MALE

FEMALE

Now try to reorganise your words into different Semantic Categories: MALE FEMALE

What about who would actually use the insults?

Context is important for lots of reasons when analysing language in terms of gender. Which of the following terms might you find patronising? babe love sweetheart dear pet duck honey Does it depend on who is addressing you: Man/woman? Friend/stranger?

What do the theorists think? compiled similar inventories of words and found that there were more words for men but also that there were more positive words. 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) 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 become . Muriel Shulz (1975) patriarchal order pejorated 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

LORD LADY GOVERNOR GOVERNESS BARONET DAME SIR MADAM MASTER MISTRESS KING QUEEN SPINSTER BACHELOR

A master is in control, but a mistress is kept for sex. Compare old master and old mistress. A bachelor is an approving term, but a spinster is a sad thing to be. Compare bachelor pad and spinster pad. A patron is a business client, but a matron is an old nurse. If a man has a client, he is a businessman; if a woman has a client, she is a prostitute. If a man is a pro, he is competent; if a woman is a pro, she is a prostitute. If a man is a tramp, he is a homeless scruff; if a woman is a tramp, a prostitute.

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!

Complete the table

Julia Stanley 1977 Julia Stanley in 1977 argued that there was a negative semantic space for women. Women couldn’t be writers, surgeons, doctors. These words didn’t apply - women could only be women writers, female surgeons, lady doctors. Similarly, we referred to ‘working mothers’ but not ‘working fathers.’ Lastly, there were ‘drivers’ and ‘women drivers’ - note carefully the implications attached to the latter phrase. Do we still use these distinctions today? Think about how you would refer to a female judge, plumber or a male cleaner, secretary, nurse. Think also how your parents / members of an older generation might refer to these people.

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 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

Based on the work we have done so far, how far do you agree with Stanley’s theory that there is a negative semantic space for women?35 years later, how true do you believe Stanley’s theory to be?

Now let’s look more specifically at sexism Fact: on the website www.mustsharejokes.com there are 31 sexist jokes about women but only 8 about men Follow the instructions on your handout. Half of you will be looking at sexist jokes at the expense of men, the other half at sexist jokes about women. What kind of stereotypes emerge from looking at these jokes? How are each sex commonly represented?

Sexist?Obama sorry for 'sweetie' comment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Juy9NwI8_i0 TASK: Watch the clip, read the article and then discuss the questions below in pairs... 1) Do you think it was necessary for Obama to apologise for calling the reporter “sweetie”? 2) Would you be offended if someone addressed you as sweetie? 3) Would the situation be different if a woman referred to a man in that way?

Can you think of any other examples of sexism being exploited in this way? What does that lead you to believe about how true Stanley’s theory is today?

Spender 1980 According to Spender (1980) there are 220 terms for promiscuous females but only 20 for males. Quick Task: See how many you can think of for each gender in 60 seconds. Examples to get you started: Female: Slag Male: Stud How does this add to your evaluation of Stanley’s theory?

Does the English Language favour men? 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. Can you think of any more politically correct examples of language use? Think about roles and occupations...

There is evidence that the word ‘man’ naturally includes ‘women’ from as early as 1553 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.

Modify these sentences so that they become gender neutral 1. Businessmen have to keep their wits about them at all times. 2. I haven't seen a waitress since I entered the restaurant. 3. It was a huge leap forward when mankind finally discovered the wheel. 4. It is unlikely that a doctor would be able to prescribe medication to his patients without consultation. 5. Looking at him, you'd think his mother didn't know what a washing machine was. 6. If you call the secretary, she will give you an appointment within 24 hours. 7. We were hoping that the air hostesses would give us some complimentary drinks on the flight out. 8. At the inter-faith priest's conference there was plenty of time for the men to discuss their ideas.

Evaluate the idea that spoken interactions between men and women are characterised by miscommunication Evaluate the idea that women traditionally have used submissive language in their discourse with men Evaluate the idea that the English language is inherently sexist. Evaluate the idea that men’s language is more purposeful and focused than women’s. Evaluate the idea that male and female language in fact has little difference. Evaluate the idea that men use language to demonstrate power. Evaluate the idea that women’s language is emotional whereas men’s language is purposeful. Evaluate the idea that men and women speak differently. Possible questions…

Challenging Gender Roles Through Language Diversity