Gender and the Use of Sexually Degrading Language (original) (raw)
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More Use of Taboo Terms in Masculine Groups: What Factors Are at Work
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Social aspects of derogation of women terms
It is a truism to say that while communicating with others we are mostly unaware of the history of our language, not to mention any historical semantic changes of the vocabulary we are employing in our daily communication. However, it does not seem to matter much since one of the most significant functions of language is to communicate ideas. In a situation when both the addresser and addressee perceive things similarly it is not their concern that, say, a word which is now, for instance, both female-specific and opprobrious was once non-gender specific and non-abusive. Another function of human language, except communication, is to express shared assumptions and transmit implicit values and behavioural models to those who use it. Hence, as a powerful conceptual force language is a transmitter of society's deep biases and provides a means of conditioning our thoughts. Let us refer at this point to Mills (1989:xi) who provides a down-to-earth yet illustrative example of ordinary words for a female person such as woman and girl. When the words acquire the additional commonly understood meanings of 'mistress' and 'prostitute', as they -in fact -did in the history of English, an attitude towards women held by some members of society becomes -somewhat naturally -part of the experience of all that society's members. Miller and Swift (1976:50) in their Words and Women provide further evidence saying that when parents or teachers tell a boy not to cry because it is far from being manly or praise a girl for her feminine way of dressing, they are simply using the words manly and feminine to reinforce the categories our culture has assigned to males and females. Inevitably, in such situations language immediately becomes the expression of current societal values and a part of culture. As Bynon (1983) accentuates:
© 2012 Time Taylor International ISSN 1718-2298 Conversational Topic Preferences, Taboo Words and Euphemisms: The Case of Philippine Male and Female University Students Teresita D. Tajolosa, Palawan State University Abstract The present study investigates the conversational topic preference, taboo words, euphemisms, and cathartic expressions of private and state university male and female students. Among the important findings were: 1) the opposite sex is not ranked as the most preferred topic of conversation with friends by students although they are among the favorites. Instead, sports, is the most preferred topic by male students from the private university while school matters, girls and computer games were listed with almost the same frequency by males from the state university. School matters and lovelife topped the list of female students from the private and the public university; 2) despite the seeming openness, teen-agers feel it improper to discuss personal problems, love life, secrets and sex with mere acquaintances; 3) there is more tendency for Manila-born and bred students to express irritation or anger more strongly through cathartic words than their counterparts who were born and bred in the province; 4) when provoked, both groups of respondents tend to utter harsh words to inflict insult or hurt on other people. What is remarkable is the capacity of males from the private university to utter more varied and more degrading expressions; 5) pertaining to the use of taboo words, the private university students prove to recognize more taboo words than do state university students. Contrarily, some of the terms used to refer to sexual intercourse, excretory process and masturbation were not meant to soften the taboos for their negative connotations and vulgarity; and 6) as can be expected, friends prove to be the most influential in the teenagers language and behavior, followed by media and neighborhood. backgrounds. These findings suggested that gender differences may be influenced by socio-economic backgrounds. Key words: taboo, euphemisms, cathartic words, gender differences
Title Linguistic Patriarchy in Sexual Discourse among University Students in Kenya
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The present paper analyses words and phrases in sexual discourse among university students in Kenya in order to determine men‟s patriarchal language attitudes. Using Foucault‟s (1978) Theory of Discourse Analysis and Feminist Theory, the study shows power interplay in male and female language use. Results revealed that males use powerful language which promotes patriarchal tendencies. This paper may help reduce exploitation and discrimination of women in society. It may also inform future studies on linguistics and gender issues. © 2017 Elixir All rights reserved. Elixir Ling. & Trans 103 (2017) 45608-45610 Linguistics and Translation Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal)
Attitudes Toward Women Mediate the Gender Effect on Attitudes Toward Sexist Language
Psychology of Women Quarterly, 2004
Studies of attitudes toward sexist language have consistently revealed a gender gap, with women considerably more supportive of inclusive language than men. The present study investigated this gender gap in the presence of "attitudes toward women," a potential mediator variable. Participants were a convenience sample of 18-to 20-year-old college students (N = 278). Most were European American/White (87%) women (60%). Data were collected using the Modern Sexism Scale, Neosexism Scale, Attitudes Toward Women Scale, and Inventory of Attitudes Toward Sexist/Nonsexist Language-General. The customary gender gap in attitudes toward sexist language was found in this sample. Regression tests of mediation, however, revealed that when measures of attitudes toward women were included in the analysis, the gender effect diminished by as much as 61% (p < .01). These findings provide empirical evidence of a link between attitudes toward sexist language and the cultural construct, attitudes toward women.
Power and gender negotiations during interviews with men about sex and sexually degrading practices
Qualitative Research, 2011
The topic of female researchers interviewing male subjects has received previous attention, but few scholarly works focus specifically on sensitive topics such as sexual behaviors. The discrepancy suggests that even though women researchers interview men about sensitive issues, sexuality still seems out of bounds. Based on our research, we found it intellectually and emotionally challenging to interview men about sexually degrading behaviors. In the present article, we focus on the gender performances by both the interviewees and interviewers, including how the structure of the interview affects gendered interactions in interviews and the vulnerability we experienced as a result. We conclude by suggesting a few strategies that future women researchers can employ when conducting cross-gender, in-depth interviews with men about sex. We also raise questions for feminist researchers about how best to handle sexist, racist, and derogatory remarks made by interviewees.
This paper examines gender in a language which represents one of the major social problems of language lessons. In a society, gender discrimination is reflected in the language that expresses productivity in accordance with the same sex while discriminating against others. Naturally, prejudice exists popularly with both men and women. Therefore, language is considered a powerful tool for ancestors. Language is one of the important methods of birth and birth through sexual discrimination. The index of gender beliefs, depending on whether women should show warmth to men should reflect the characteristics of the skills, reflected in the letters of the language of everyday communication. As a result, language subtly reflects the tendency of the art form and the power to go men. The rules of grammar are structured in such a way that female words are usually found in the corresponding male form. In addition, masculine nouns and pronouns are often used as well as a standard label for transmission of men and women. Therefore, such kinds of languages are harmful to the consequences of degrading women. In order to reduce sexual orientation, it is necessary to change people's language habits by making them aware of the beneficial effects of sex speech. This research paper will seek to explore and investigate the concept of gender language, identification, and assessment of cultural aspect, social aspects, and psychological factor influencing the reality of sexism in the English language by sexual experimentation that occurs in syntax, morphology, and language semantics and decoding strategies to avoid sexism. Various books and essays have been selected to investigate the nature of gender in the English language.