Language and Gender

Lesson Two: Language and thought

Last lesson we learnt:• Historically in our society, men have held

the power. Women have held a subordinate position and have not had a voice in society.

• There are still significant problems with the way women are viewed: as objects, not worthy of the same pay, as something that sex should be done to etc

• Language mirrors society: popularity of the word ‘transgender’ reflects the media’s interest in it, which reflects society’s changing attitudes.

Subordinate: something or someone of less importance

This lesson we’ll discover:• Is our language androcentric?• Does it matter if it is?• Does our language affect our

thoughts about gender?• Should we make efforts to change

the language that we use to talk about gender?

androcentric: having an in-built bias towards men

Derogatory language - Stanley 1973:

• 20!• Would the same be true today?

• 220 English terms for a promiscuous female

• How many for a man?

Derogatory language…• Almost all terms for women acquire derogatory

meanings over time, whilst most terms for men retain their original meanings or gain respect:

Master MistressKingQueenSir MadamEarl DameManWoman

This process is called semantic derogation

Lexical asymmetry…• Roget’s thesaurusWeakness: feebleness, debility, impotence, womanly

Cowardice: cry baby, quitter, spiritless, womanish

Courage: moral fibre, heroism, manliness

Androcentric language…built by men

Read the sheet at your leisure!

It’s not just gender…

The charity Scope raises money to help people with the condition cerebral palsy. What did it used to be called?

Does it matter?

Gender Socialisation:

Society expects different attitudes and behaviours from boys and girls. Gender socialisation is the tendency for boys and girls to be socialized differently. Boys are raised to conform to the male gender role, and girls are raised to conform to the female gender or role. A gender role is a set of behaviours, attitudes, and personality characteristics expected and encouraged of a person based on his or her sex. Language plays a large part in this.

What can we do about it?• Will getting rid of the prejudiced language get rid

of the prejudiced attitudes?

• Will creating new words get rid of the prejudice?

• And to make it worse… the biased language makes the situation worse. If the word for a person ‘suffering from congenital paralysis due to cerebral impairment’ (a ‘spastic’) is also used to mean someone who is stupid and worthless, the word is bound to prejudice people against CP sufferers.

What can we do about it?• “That’s so gay…”

Language and thought• So that all brings me

to…• Sapir & Whorf

Does language affect thought? Or does thought affect language?

Language and thought• Sapir & Whorf largely discredited by linguists

now, but some acceptance of the ‘weak version’ of their hypothesis

• Language doesn’t determine what we think about, but it does affect our thinking on some level.

Carmichael, Hogan and Walter, 1932

In conclusion• Montgomery 1986• “Language plays an active and

crucial role in shaping the processes of representation”

This lesson we’ll discover:• Is our language androcentric?• Does it matter if it is?• Does our language affect our

thoughts about gender?• Should we make efforts to change

the language that we use to talk about gender?

androcentric: having an in-built bias towards men