gender lesson 2 language and thought
TRANSCRIPT
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