Gender, Language and
Communication
Week 2:2
Language& sexism wk 2.2
1
Sexism & Language
A. Connotations
governor – governess
master – mistress
patron – matron
sir – madam
bachelor – spinster
Word Pairs
brothers & sisters
husband & wife
boys & girls
hostess & host
queen & king
Eve & Adam
Language& sexism wk 2.2
2
Sexism & Language
Generic He/Man
• policeman
• spokeman
• manpower
• Social Man
• mankind
• workman’s compensation
• “Man the oars”
• he, him, his
Language& sexism wk 2.2
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• Part A. Connotations
• Words associated with men appear on the left, those with women
on the right. What does each word connote to you?
• Power, authority, positively valued while for women…..
• What did spinster mean originally? Semantic Derogation over
time? Word becomes associated with women often acquires
semantic characteristics congruent with social stereotypes and
evaluations – women as a group (PM Smith in Renzetti & Curran).
•
•
•
•
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What do these connotations say abt the status of women in society?
Generally men associated with positive things, women negative things?
“Shrew” from the name of a small, but vicious, animal is defined in most
dictionaries as “an ill-tempered scolding woman.” A shrewd businessman
has different connotation, “clever, discerning awareness” .
Patron of the arts vs a matron who supervises a public institution or
simply an old woman.
Would you rather be an old master (someone who has achieved
consummate ability in your field) or an old mistress
Language& sexism wk 2.2
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Word Pairs
• Read each word pair. What if you reverse them? Sound
incorrect, awkward?
• Traditionally placing the female term after the male term
signifies something? Status of women? “ the supreme
Being…is in languages Masculine, in as much as the
masculine Sex is the superior and more excellent” (quoted
in Baron, 1986)
• Linguistic Sexism is the larger problem of semantic
derogation
• Linguistic sexism – ways in which a language devalues
members of one sex (women), defining women’s “place” in
society unequally & ignoring women. Example: titles of
respect for men, Mr which reveals nothing about relationship
to women. While women being addressed as Miss or Mrs –
define women in terms of their relationships to men.
Husband & wife having Ph.Ds-commonly adddressed as Dr
& Mrs. How is a woman’s
identity subsumed?
Language& sexism wk 2.2
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Generic He/Man
• What image comes to your mind when reading
the words?
• Do you visualize women, women and men
together, or men alone? Only men
• “he/man” language frequently results in “cognitive
confusion” or misunderstanding
• How can sexist language be changed?
Individuals (you & me), organizations
• Ms for Miss & Mrs, Alternating the order of
feminine & masculine nouns and pronouns
• She/he, or he and she or they for he/man
• Police officer, spokesperson, businessperson
Language& sexism wk 2.2
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Do Women & Men Speak Different Language
• Deborah Tannem (1990,1994 a&b) argues women & men
are of different speech communities
• Different communication styles and goals.
• Women & men speak different genderlects just as people
from cultures speak different dialects.
• Women speak & hear a language of intimacy & connection.
Men uses language of status & independence.
• Therefore, when women & men converse, the conversations
often become product of two different cultures resulting in
misunderstanding.
• Some studies using large sample found few communication
differences among gender, but both women & men
communication patterns and styles are influenced by
situational factors: sex the receiver, the context, the
perceived status of both speaker and receiver.
Language& sexism wk 2.2
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On listening reactions, few differences between female and male listeners
except female gave more “active understanding” responses (explicit
acknowledgment of the speaker’s feelings) when the speaker was a female
friend. Is communication an interactive process affected by a variety of
factors of which gender is only one?
Many researchers observed gender inequality characterizes much daily
communication, reflecting differences in men’s and women’s life
experiences, social status, power (Henley et al., 1985)
-In cross-sex conversations, men are found to do more of the
talking which in many situations give them more opportunity to
express their opinions (business meetings). Plus men have
more success than women in getting the conversation focused
on topics. Listeners of both sexes more actively attend to men
when they speak than to women speakers (McConnell-Ginet,
1989).
Non verbal communication of men in cross-sex interaction –
dominant. They control more space than women, they invade
women’s personal space more than women invade men’s by
standing closer to them, and by touching and staring at them
more.
Language& sexism wk 2.2
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• Women tend to avert their eyes when stared at by men,
but they also smile and laugh more than men whether
they are happy or not, a gesture viewed as both social
and submissive.
• Research on same-sex conversation showed that in all
female groups, women talk more than men do in all
male groups.
• Men prefer to talk more about sports, work; women
prefer to indulge more about personal topics
(Bischoping, 1993).
• Women conversations are less individualistic and more
dynamic than men’s conversation in same-sex interaction.
Women enlarge on and acknowledge one another’s
contributions, respond to conversationalist’s attempts to
introduce topics..
• Although interruptions are frequent in women’s
conversations, these are typically supportive rather than
aggressive
Language& sexism wk 2.2
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• Women’s conversations
are being stereotyped as gossiping
• Although interruptions are frequent in women’s
conversations, these are typically supportive
rather than aggressive
• Women’s conversations are being stereotyped
as gossiping whereas men’s conversations with
another are regarded as more serious and
important.
• Wld these negative traits and consequences of
communication differences associated
exclusively with women have to do with men
having greater power to define acceptable
standards of communication? Obviously,
women’s communications are considered not
only different from men’s, but also typically
inferior (Lakoff, 1990)
Language& sexism wk 2.2
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Is the Situation Changing ?
• Some evidence the situation may be
changing.
• Berryman-Fink (1994)-no difference in how
women & men (sups, peers, or
subordinates) rated the communication
competency of women in the work place. In
self-evaluations, women rated their
communication competency lower than
others rated men. Women need to develop
greater self confidence in certain
communication settings.
Language& sexism wk 2.2
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