LANGUAGE AND GENDER REVISION

WOMAN HERSELF RECOGNISES THAT THE WORLD IS MASCULINE ON THE WHOLE; THOSE WHO FASHIONED IT, RULED IT, AND STILL DOMINATE IT TODAY ARE MEN. SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR

In the 1960s, American feminists took the questioning of womens role in society into the field of language. They drew attention to the ways in which language both reflects and encourages perceptions of gender differences.

They also considered the wider field of communication between men and women, and how issues of language have contributed towards womens feelings of powerlessness.

ENGLISH, AT LEAST, IS SYMMETRICALLY SKEWED TO REPRESENT WOMEN AS THE SECOND SEX. MONTGOMERY, 1986.

A 1977 study in America revealed 320 terms referring unfavourably to women as sex objects. In some cases, the same term only has derogatory overtones when applied to women. For example, loose woman is readily understood as an immoral woman, whereas loose man suggests an escaped prisoner. Terms to describe male sexual behaviour tend to be coyly euphemistic, or even approving: e.g. sowing his wild oats, bit of a lad, man-of-the-world.

TASK 1: IN PAIRS, READ THE POEM THE JOGGERS SONG, WRITTEN BY ROGER MCGOUGH. HOW ARE THE CHARACTER AND ATTITUDES OF THE JOGGER REVEALED IN THE LANGUAGE?
Well, she was asking for it. Lyin there, cryin out, Dyin for it. Pissed of course. Of course, nice girls dont. Dont know who she was, Where from, didnt care. Nor did she. Slut. Slut.
Now I dont drink. No fear. Like to keep a clear Head. Keep ahead. Like I said, like to know what Im dooin Who Im screwin (excuse language). Not like her. Baggage. HalfDressed, couldnt-care-less. Pissed. Now I look after myself. Fit. Keep myself fit. Got A good body. Good body. Slim. Go to the gym. Keep in trim. Girls like a man wiv a good body. Strong arms, tight arse. Right Tart she was. Slut. Pissed. Crawlin round beggin for it. Lyin there, dyin for it. Cryin. Cryin. Nice girls dont. Right one she was. A raver. At night, after dark, On her own, in the park? Well, do me a favour.

And tell me this: If she didnt enjoy it, Why didnt she scream?

WHY HAVE SOME WOMEN DRAWN ATTENTION TO USES OF LANGUAGE SUCH AS THOSE IN THE EXTRACT BELOW?
Dear Sirs man to man manpower craftsman working men the thinking man the man in the street fellow countrymen the history of mankind one-man show man in his wisdom statesman forefathers masterful masterpiece old masters the brotherhood of man Liberty Equality Fraternity sons of free men faith of our fathers god the father god the son yours fraternally amen words fail me.

Stephanie Dowrick
SHORT TASK: Investigate the following pairs and discuss their connotations in relation to language and gender

1. mistress/master 2. spinster/bachelor 3. pretty/handsome

LANGUAGE AND GENDER REVISION

Year 12 Tuesday 23rd April, 2013

LANGUAGE AND GENDER

There are two different types of Language and Gender questions you could be asked about: representations of gender and gender in action.
For instance, magazine articles, adverts and books all include representations of gender (usually stereotypes) and not what males and females are really like. It's the perception of a gender difference, not a real gender difference. Transcripts, however, will show you how gender differences affect language (unless they are faked, be careful!)

A DISTINCTION YOU MUST UNDERSTAND

Female: 1. of women: relating or belonging to women or girls2. biology of the sex that produces offspring: relating or belonging to the sex that produces sex cells gametes that fuse with male sex cells during sexual reproduction Feminine: 1. conventionally associated with women: conventionally thought to be appropriate for a woman or girl2. attributed to women: considered to be characteristic of women

The big question in linguistics: does being female affect a person's language, or is it merely the attitude towards feminine that make us think there is a difference?

GENDER RESEARCHERS
Difference Theory - the idea that males and females really do converse differently.

A big advocate of this approach is Deborah Tannen. She believes the difference starts in childhood, where parents use more words about feelings to girls and use more verbs to boys. Males and females belong to difference sub-cultures and therefore speak differently. Her book, You Just Don't Understand, claims that there are six main differences between the ways males and females use language: Status vs. support - men see language as a means of asserting dominance; women see it as a way of confirming/supporting ideas. Independence vs. intimacy - men "go it alone"; women seek support. Advice vs. understanding - men see language as problem solving; women see it as a means of empathy. Information vs. feelings - males are concerned with the facts; women with emotions. Orders vs. proposals - men use imperatives; females use hidden directives. Conflict vs. compromise - men will argue; women will try to find a middle ground.

She also said of males and females:

Women talk too much? This, as Deborah Cameron can prove, is merely a myth ... and as Dale Spender put it, perhaps stems from the idea that in an ideal world, women wouldnt talk at all

Q: Do you think that Tannens beliefs sound as though they stem from stereotypes?

In a male/female conversation, the following female researchers found these, which seem to match the difference approach:
Pilkington did research into all female and all male conversation in a bakery over a period of nine months. He found: Women talk to affirm solidarity and maintain social relationships. Women focus on feelings, personal anecdotes and relationships. Women support, build on each others' points and complete others' utterances Women agree frequently. Men find long pauses (thinking time) acceptable. Men frequently disagree and challenge others' points. Their conversation is competitive to a point of verbal abuse. They take part in verbal sparring, often using mock insults.

Christine Howe Men have strategies for gaining power. Men are much more likely to respond to what is being said, keen to put their views across. This makes it harder for the listener to participate in the conversation. Women are more active listeners. They use minor interjections, such as "uh huh" and "oh really" (backchanneling). The differences between male and female conversation begins at socialisation (ages 3-4).

BEING CRITICAL!
You

don't have to agree with them and pointing out in the exam the problems with the studies (e.g. that they're generalising, that they're dated) would also get you marks. And besides, the exam question is only one example of male and female conversation -- there's no proof that it's representative.

DOMINANCE THEORY

After all those annoying linguists who say that there is a difference, William O'Barr and Bowman Atkins wrote a book called Women's Language Or a Powerless Language? (1980):
They studied the language of the courtroom and found female lawyers to be assertive, interrupt, everything that Pilkington argued for males. They also found that witnesses of both sexes would use Robin Lakoff's weak "female" language. They concluded that these weak language traits are actually a "powerless language" rather than a "female language".

 O'Barr

and Atkin's research is interesting, and seems to suggest that it is not so much differences in the sexes' language, more the situations that they face which result in the difference. This theory is known as the dominance theory: if there is a difference in language, it is because males have always dominated in both the home and workplace, and females have had to play the domestic roles.

ROBIN LAKOFF (1975)

Robin Lakoff was a believer in this to some extent. She combined elements of dominance and deficiency (another theory that claims women's language is weaker because it's EXPECTED to be weaker..."women don't swear" being a common assumption) and created a set of female characteristics: Women hedge. Women use super polite forms: "Would you please...?" "I'd really appreciate it if..." Women speak in italics (use more prosodic features): It's soooo nice... They use empty adjectives: divine, lovely, adorable... They use modal verbs: should, would... Overuse qualifiers. "I think that..." They use mitigated responses and hidden directives. They have special lexis for things like colours and cloth. They avoid coarse language and expletives. Women can't tell jokes.

Many of these, like hedging, hidden directives, overuse of qualifiers, she claimed were because of the patriarchal society - historically, women had never had any power, and when faced with opportunities to place their opinion, they grow nervous.
The feminist Dale Spender also believed the dominance approach. She once said:

"The crux of our difficulties lies in being able to identify and transform the rules which govern our behavior and which bring patriarchal order into existence. Yet the tools we have for doing this are part of that patriarchal order. While we can modify, we must none the less use the only language, the only classification scheme which is at our disposal. We must use it in a way that is acceptable and meaningful. But that very language and the conditions for its use in turn structure a patriarchal order.
Under the dominance theory, in a gender-neutral area, males and females should use language in the same way.

QUESTION: Which approach do you believe? Dominance or difference? Explain why. It doesn't really matter which side you take: as long as you can link the researchers to the data, distinguish between dominance and difference AND be critical of the research, you'll get the marks!

STEREOTYPES

Have you ever heard the phrase, "You can't do it you're a woman"? Stereotypes are annoying. Unfortunately, stereotypes often imbue our representations of gender. Gender Stereotypes categories:
Women are: Weak Pretty Intuitive Emotional Domestic Social

generally
Men are:

fall

into

two

Strong Decisive Practical Rational Public Commanding

Q: LOOK AT THE EXTRACT BELOW, TAKEN FROM A MILLS AND BOON NOVEL. DO YOU NOTICE ANYTHING WITH REGARD TO GENDER STEREOTYPES?

As Holly went upstairs to check on her sister, who was staying at Gregorys while their parents had taken the weekend off to visit a festival of flowers, she couldnt still her tumbling thoughts. Hot anger trembled through her body.

LOOK AT THE EXTRACT BELOW, TAKEN FROM A MILLS AND BOON NOVEL. DO YOU NOTICE ANYTHING WITH REGARD TO GENDER STEREOTYPES?
The first thing to notice is that Holly is checking on her sister -- taking on a domesticated, caring role. Why doesn't Gregory check on her?

As Holly went upstairs to check on her sister, who was staying at Gregorys while their parents had taken the weekend off to visit a festival of flowers, she couldnt still her tumbling thoughts. Hot anger trembled through her body.

She is also portrayed as weak and emotional: "couldn't still her tumbling thoughts" -- unable to control her emotions.

The verb choice "trembled" is interesting, considering that the emotion is "anger." The weak female cannot even feel such an aggressive emotion properly; it has to be dulled down by a weak verb.

WHERE DOES STEREOTYPING COME FROM?

We only have to look into the history books to see male dominance. It wasn't until 1918 that females in the UK got the vote... British history has always been patriarchal - which means the rule of men. They ran the government, the Church and everything else in the public sphere. Because they set the rules, they dictated what women could and couldn't do. In fact, in Victorian times many books were published about the gender difference -stating what males and females could and could not do. It was believed that they fell into different spheres (domestic and public), that because of their biology, it was natural for women to be more caring and stay in the house, while men should be out, making a living.

These social constructs were very restraining for females, and perhaps lead to the "sociable" stereotype. When females were locked in the house, their only way of communicating with the outside world was through holding "tea parties" and other events. Some interesting acts of Parliament:
1553 It was agreed that it was more natural for the man to come before the woman. 1746 John Kirkby wrote Eighty Grammatical Rules. Rule 21 said that the male gender was more comprehensive than the female. 1850 Act of parliament was passed that stated that he should be used for both sexes.

These constructions have also naturally affected language in action. If we believe what Lakoff says about hedging - is it any surprise that women hedge, when they have been oppressed for centuries? Or that, when roles have been always seen as for male, females move more towards R.P. in a job interview than men?

DEROGATIVES

Think of all the derogatory terms for females, in comparison to those for males. Look at each word below and explain what the connotations are. For example: BITCH has animalistic connotations those that could refer to being owned and controlled by a master. WANKER has sexual overtones in relation to the act of male masturbation it used to carry suggestions of egotistical and selfindulgent behaviour in the early twentieth century. However, it has undergone SEMANTIC SHIFT and now is generally used as a pejorative insult towards men. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS SHIFT MAY HAVE OCCURRED?

Female:

Male:

BitchSlag WankerDi TartSlappe ckheadPr r Cow ickGayP uff