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Sexist language and gender-neutral language
Julie Bytheway 4 June 2009
University of TwenteKenlooMassey University
Outline
introdefine
pasteffects
formsfuture
Definition
• Sexist language is words, phrases, and expressions that unnecessarily differentiate between women and men or exclude, trivialize or diminish either.
• Gender-neutral language is...
Parks & Roberton (1998), cited in Edwards (2008)
Examples
• men/guys• he/him/his• Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms• he or she
• manmade• chairman/layman• lady doctor/male nurse• office girls/family man
Past
St Hildegarde of Bingen, 11th centuryattempted to construct non-sexist alternative
The Revolution, 1868-1871 paid attention to sexist language
Simone de Beauviour, 1952 challenged of generic use of man
Penelope (1990); Rakow & Kramarae (1990), cited in Weatherall (2002)
Man as generic form
• laws about punishment:women included
• laws about privileges and benefits: women not included
Spender (1990)
Man as generic form
• not natural form• introduced by grammarians
The masculine Person answers to the generalname which comprehends both Male and Female; as Any Person, who knows what he says.
Kirby (1746)
• introduced by British government in 1850
Bodine (1975)
Man as generic form
• not natural form• introduced by male grammarians
The masculine Person answers to the generalname which comprehends both Male and Female; as Any Person, who knows what he says.
Kirby (1746)
• introduced by all male British government in 1850
Bodine (1975)
Language equality
• PrescriptivismLinguistic practices and preferences are based on society elites, rather than any natural or objective notion of correctness.
• DescriptivismDifferent language varieties are equal in linguistic terms, and it is wrong to label some varieties as inferior.
Cameron (1995); Mesthrie, Swann, Deumert, & Leap (2000)
Language vs society
Sankoff (1986); Mesthrie, Swann, Deumert, & Leap (2000)
Power and dominance
By promoting the symbol of man at the expense of woman it is clear that visibility and primacy of males is supported. We learn to see the male as the worthier, more comprehensive and superior sex as we divide and organised the world along these lines.
Spender (1990)
Hart (2007)
Research
• differences• power and dominance• gendered language reflects social distinctions,
but also actively maintains these
Mesthrie, Swann, Deumert, & Leap (2000)
Mackay (1979); Crawford & English (1984); Mackay & Fulkerson (1979), Mouton, Robinson & Elias (1978), Cole, Hill & Dayley (1983); Schneider & Haker (1973), Briere & Lanktree (1983), Murdock & Forsyth (1985); Falk & Mills (1996), cited in Weatherall (2002); Bem & Bem (1973); Johnson & Dowling-Guyer (1996); Cameron (1994); Fergusson (2004)
Coats (1993); Crawford (1995); Graddol & Swann (1989); Holmes (1994); Tannen (1990)
Communication styles
Tannen (1990)
Management styles
1963 → 2009
King (1963) Obama (2009)
Gender-specific Gender-neutral
• poet/poetess• hero/heroine• manager/manageress• governor/governess• chairman• freshman• layman• salesman
• poet• • manager• • • • •
• poet/poetess• hero/heroine• manager/manageress• governor/governess• chairman• freshman• layman• salesman
• poet• hero• manager• governor• chair• first-year student• layperson• salesperson
Gender-specific Gender-neutral
Titles
Questionable• Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms• Prof. Dr. Mrs. Holmes
• Dear Sir/Madam
Acceptable• Mr, Ms• Professor Holmes
• To whom it may concern
• Dear householder• Dear customer
Women
Questionable• girl• lady
• man and wife• lecturers and their
wives
Acceptable• women• women
• husband and wife• lecturers and their
partners
Unacceptable
• career woman• working mother• lady doctor
• family man• house husband• male nurse
Unacceptable
• ambitious men• aggressive women
• strong men• domineering women
• persuasive man• nagging woman
• driven man• selfish woman
Invisible women
• man• mankind• guys
• he• him• his
• • •
• • •
Invisible women
• man• mankind• guys
• he• him• his
• people, human• humanity• y’all, yous
• they• them• their
Invisible woman
Where this publication refers to "he" and "his", "she" and "her" are also implied.
CAO University System for Job Classification (2003)
Word order
• he or she, he/she, s/he• his or her, him or her
• men and women• sons and daughters• ladies and gentlemen
Irrelevant differences
A lecturer needs to submit his materials by…
A lecturer needs to submit his or her materials by…
A lecturer needs to submit all materials by…
Lecturers need to submit their materials by…
Someone phoned, but he didn’t leave his number.
Someone phoned, but he or she didn’t leave his or her number.
Someone phoned, but didn’t leave a number.
Someone phoned, but they didn’t leave their number.
Irrelevant differences
Language is a form of human reason, which has its internal logic of which man knows nothing.
Levi-Strauss (1972)
Sexist language
Sexist language
Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.
Kennedy (1963)
Sexist language
An officer goes to the scene as quickly as possible. He sees the bad guy. There is no time for thought. He acts.
Gladwell (2005)
Sexist language
The employee is obliged to perform his duties to the best of his ability, to behave as a good employee and to act in accordance with the instructions given by or on behalf of the employer.
CAO (2008)
Resistance
• comical• irritating• annoying• resist change• habit
• oblivious• censorship• restricts free speech• feminist ideology
Romaine (2001); Liben, Bigler & Krogh (2002); Parks & Robertson (2005), cited in Edwards (2008)
Accepted
• gender equality is widely viewed as desirable
• international laws and regulations have been recast
• style guides address gender-neutral language
Redefine
Sexism in language can be considered more broadly as forms of language use that function to control women, and discourses that perpetuate social beliefs about women.
Weatherall (2000)
Discussion
ReferencesCameron, D. (Ed.). (1994). Non-sexist communication: guidelines for staff and students. Strathclyde:
Public Relations Service, University of Strathclyde.Cameron, D. (1995). Rethinking language and gender studies: some issues from the 1990’s, in S Mills
(Ed.), Language and gender: interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 31-44). Harlow: Longman.Cameron, D. (2005). Language, gender, and sexuality: Current issues and new directions. Applied
Linguistics, 26 (4), 482-502.Coats, J. (1993). Women, men and language. Harlow: Longman.Crawford, M. (1995). Talking difference: On gender and language. London: Sage Publications.Edwards, A. (2008). Non-sexist language reform in ESL institutions. Maastricht: Maastricht University.Fergusson, C. (2004). Sexist language persists in the ESL classroom. English teaching forum, 42(1), 36-42. Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink. London: Penguin.Graddol, D., & Swann, J. (1989). Gender voices. Oxford: Blackwell.Hart, J. (2007). BC. Retrieved on May 12, 2009 from http://johnhartstudios.com.Holmes, J. (1994). Improving the lot of female language learners, in J Sunderland (Ed.), Exploring gender:
Questions and implications for English language education. London: Prentice Hall.Johnson, M., & Dowling-Guyer, S. (1996). Effects of inclusive vs. Exclusive language on evaluations of
counsellor. Sex Roles, 34(5), 407-418.
ReferencesKennedy, J. (1961, January 20). Inaugural address. Retrieved on May 13, 2009 from
http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html.King, M. (1963, May 13). I have a dream. Retrieved on May 13, 2009 from
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm.Levi-Strauss, C. (1974). Structural Anthropology. New York: Basic Books.Mesthrie, R., Swann, J., Deumert, A., & Leap, W. (2000). Introducing sociolinguistics. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press.Obama, B. (2009, January 20). Inaugural address. Retrieved on May 13, 2009 from
http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres68.html.Pinker, S. (1994). The language instinct. New York: Harper Perennial.Sankoff, G. (1986). Social life of language. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Spender, D. (1990). Man made language. London: Routledge & Kegan.Tannen, D. (1990). You just don’t understand. New York: Morrow.VSNU. (2003). Collective labour agreement (CAO). The Hague: Stichting SoFoKleS.VSNU. (2008). Collective labour agreement (CAO). The Hague: Stichting SoFoKleS.Weatherall, A. (2002). Gender, language and discourse. London: Routledge.