Sexism in Language
We all know that men and women are different. They look different, act different, walk, talk, and even smell different. In part, the simple fact that we are different explains why we sometimes have trouble communicating with and understanding the opposite sex. However, a close look at our language may show that there is more to the communication barrier between the sexes than meets the eye.
I believe that the English language is very biased towards women. We live in a patriarchal society, an “order characterized by male dominance and the means of perpetuating that dominance”. Because of this, our language has been molded mostly by males, resulting in this “sexism in language” (Spender, 1980). This did not happen overnight. Instead, our language has evolved over centuries.
In order to better explain, let me give some examples. What word do we use to name our species? We are human or mankind. Within the human species, we have male and female, man and woman, he and she. Notice what these words all have in common – even though they refer to the two different sexes, the English words we use to name the men and women actually give reference to only one sex-male. While there are many theories about how this came to be, the most widely accepted one is called the “theory of man”. The basic idea of this theory stems from religious beliefs that God made man, and from the man he made woman. So basically, man came first, and woman only exists because of man. She came from him. This is why many patriarchal cultures developed the belief that males are dominant and superior to females. By referring to Homo sapiens as mankind, “the assumption is that man includes ‘woman’, therefore ‘she’ need not be named as a separate...
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...ople aware of this problem. According to Smith, “communication and social influence in mediating the awareness of alternatives” plays a vital role. He goes on the say:
This is where the feminist movement as a whole has had its greatest impact to date; in the articulation and interpretation of female experience, in the creation of forums where these can be shared and debated, and in the formulation of responses to the status quo. (p.173)
The fact is, we all perpetuate this problem every day, simply by speaking, and a majority of us aren’t even aware of it. So basically, the more we talk about these things, and the more that women are given a chance to express themselves (and not be looked down upon), the better things will be. By making more men and women aware of these differences in our language, we can all become more open-minded and respectful of each other.
People tend to prefer stability over a dramatic change in lifestyle even if it means improving the
Deborah Tannen is the author of the book You Just Don't Understand where she analyzes the different meanings of communication between men and women. Her research shows that women and men use the same words and phrases and yet can interpret and react to those same words and phrases differently. Tannen compares the two sexes to find men use their conversation as a type of competition or to preserve their independence. For example, men talk about their knowledge regarding sports, cars, women, exc. Meanwhile, women try to foster intimacy through communication. For instance, women often talk and relate on a personal level. Throughout Tannen's book she uses "cross-cultural communication" to describe the differences between the language of men and women. Tannen observed that, "For males, conversation is the way you negotiate your status in the group and keep people from pushing you around; you use talk to preserve your independence. Females, on the other hand, use conversation to negotiate closeness and intimacy; talk is the essence of intimacy, so being best friends means sitting and talking. For boys, activities, doing things together, are central. Just sitting and talking is not an essential part of friendship. They're friends with the boys they do things with" (Tannen 95).
At First the article Touches on the questioning of what Faust is. In summery, Faust is the protagonist of an old German story about a guy who is actually really successful, but at the same time is somewhat dissatisfied with his life life. He had a serious lust for earthly happiness, alo...
Women have been discriminated against since the beginning of time, as early as the first people, Adam and Eve. Eve was called the evil one, who ate fruit from the tree of knowledge. Once she had the knowledge to know right from wrong, she chose to do wrong and give the fruit to Adam. Examples like these can be shown all over history books, in stories, tales and legends across the entire world. Women have been subordinate to men in virtually all societies throughout history.
In many circles of the world, various groups of people distinguish themselves from one another through religion, language, culture, and sometimes gender. People also develop stereotypes about a particular group of people in order to identify them. However, most of the time, these stereotypes hold true for only some members of a group. Sometimes, these stereotypes are just plain misconceptions that do not even apply to the group it claims to. Stereotypes are placed on people because it is a way to easily identify what type of person or ethnicity an individual is. At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is being perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate. Some hardly even apply to the particular group people it claims to. It is true that how people are perceived has a big impact on how other individuals interact with them; however, people are not perceiving these groups correctly.
...a meaningful communication to take place. In conclusion, there are differences between men and women that go beyond social nurture. These differences have their origin in their genes. The differences evident in men and women are translated in their behavior and communication. There are possibilities of these differences in their turn raising the problem of failing to understand one another because in a communication men and women have a different set of expectations from each other. It is essential to understand and appreciate these differences for a meaningful communication to take place.
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, "What's in it for me?”- Brian Tracy. Faust is illustrated to be an exceedingly sophisticated scholar and alchemist; a man of discontent, and is compelled to obtain a vast amount of the world’s knowledge that surrounds him. In spite of all his triumphs, Faust becomes strangely unsatisfied at his life accomplishments’, “Oh God, how hard I’ve slaved away, With what results? Poor foolish old man, I’m no whit wiser than when I began!”(Goethe Lines 121-20).
1. Faust is a play written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . He published part I of the tradgedy in 1808, and Part II was published in 1832. The play was originally written in the German language. In summary, an old scholar, Faust is dissatisfied and yearns to comprehend not just all knowledge, but all experience. In such a quest, Faust makes a bargain with a spirit named Mephistopheles. The pact provides for the loss of Faust's soul in the event that Mephistopheles should provide him with any sensuous experience to his liking. Among the temptations offered by Mephistopheles is a young girl by the name of Margaret (Gretchen), whom Faust seduces and abandons, indirectly causing her death and that of the child they conceived together. In Part II, Faust continues his association with Mephistopheles and, among other adventures, has a love affair with Helen of Troy and fathers a son with her. Later, still with the aid of Mephistopheles, Faust reclaims lands from the sea which he intends to turn into a paradise on earth -- his legacy to humankind. Happy with his efforts and a vision of the future, Faust is caught in a moment of satisfaction which Mephistopheles claims as his victory. At the last moment, however, God's angels save Faust and bear his soul to heaven where he is reunited with Gretchen and appointed as teacher of the blessed.
Beginning in Heaven with a meeting between God and the archangels, the tale of Faust and his journeys show an abundance of supernatural beings, places, and powers. Mephisto following Faust home disguised as a poodle and then morphing into his true form is a striking scene. Conjuration is shown by Faust summoning a spirit as well as Mephisto when he summons rodents to chew the window sill to break a devil’s trap so that he can escape Faust’s house. Wine that changed into hellfire is the primary event at Aurbach’s Cellar. After being warned to “don’t spill any” (Goethe 677), one of the drunkards named Siebel spills wine and sets himself on fire. Leaving the cellar, Faust and Mephisto visit a witch’s kitchen where Faust drinks a potion that makes him appear young again. Further on, Mephisto uses a spell on Gretchen’s brother to render him helpless as Faust delivers the fatal blow. Climbing a mountain on Walpurgis Night finds Faust and Mephisto at a witch’s gathering where they see not only the fabled Lilith but a proctophantasmist as well. The latter is especially notable as it is not a common profession even in the supernatural
Jack is the main cause of the savagery that consumed the boys. Golding shows that all human beings are savages by nature. Jack was used to be seen as a civilized school boy to a symbol of savagery in an enviro...
Faust’s one desire was to seek out to gain more knowledge out of life, and so he makes a pact with the devil or the “baron”,mestopheles and faust sets out from the long years in his study with mestopheles to seek and fulfill this desire in the outside world, by simply interacting with the everyday life. Faust shows no weakness towards the lustful drinking party in auerbachs cellar, on the contrary he openly says that he is “inclined to leave immediately.” (line: 2295) Here he holds on to his individuality which he had shown a clear part of it before entering the cellar when he said “I never was at ease with other people, they make me feel so small and continually embarrassed.” (lines: 2058-2060) the people around the individuals have the ability to make someone feel “small” or less fortunate than other; some individuals are effected and some or not. Those who are effected undergo what is called secondary socialization, where their personality is influenced and is changed and reformed according to these people. In fausts case; he shows no sign of weakness and does not try to fit in and so he clearly shows that he isn’t enjoying himself like the other men and so he wants to leave. This did not effect his personality but another temptation did, and that was the temptation of lust or love. His strong powerful personality seems to change in the blink of an eye when he looks into the mirror in the witch’s kitchen and sees the image of the lady; he seems to forget everything especially his aim to seek knowledge and his new aim becomes this woman and all he wants is to get to her.
In Goethe’s poem, Faustus is illustrated to be an exceedingly sophisticated scholar and alchemist; a man of discontent, and is compelled to obtain a vast amount of the world’s knowledge ...
The play progresses to Faustus gaining power but doing nothing productive with it because he has no wisdom to guide himself on. Faustus wishes for power and has plans looking forward to his future life but as he gains it, he starts to lose his wisdom as power clearly took a toll on his mind. He becomes a performer for an emperor and finally ends up believing there is no redemption for his life as he knows he has sinned against God before and after his deal with the devil which what he believes - his last straw with God. Faustus crumbles after he has too much of the weight of power in his hands to the point it ruins him, as he has no wisdom to properly organize his goals or
Faust’s extreme subjectivity explains why the love affair with Margarete, so quickly displaces the original plot. The scene between Mephistopheles and the student adumbrates the turn to love, and after a brief traditional episode from the Faust chapbook in ‘Auerbach’s Tavern’ – into
Based on the film, Mephisto, on the other hand, is the devil who wagered with God that Faust is indeed same as all mortal man’s soul, easy to be fooled and misled. To settle the ownership of the Earth, they bet on the soul of Faust. The story of Faust is comparable to the Bible story of Job. If the devil wins, the earth is his, even Faust’s soul, but after the last sand in the hourglass falls signaling the end of their contract, Faust’s soul will return to his body peacefully. Faust is considered a scholar and a doctor. Dr. Faust is recognized as a fine man and a prayerful alchemist. His main concern is to save men’s lives and prevent death during the age of plague. Due to disappointments of failing, his constant depression led him to become angry and embittered, ends up burning his books. One of the pages of the books were interpreted that Mephisto is trying to communicate with Faust. As the perfect timing to tempt a man into sinning, Mephisto enticed Faust by giving him an unbelievable restoring power to heal the people who sought his help from the plague. In exchange, his soul will be owned by the devil. And he revoked the name of the Lord in healing the people, instead the using the name of the devil. Such temptations start with vision into treating the plague, Faust was so taken to his priority that he was willing to give up his soul for the common good. It is seen that the morality of Faust is swayed; his aim to do good, despite knowing that in exchange for this is his soul. Regardless of this, Faust chose to agree to Mephisto’s offered contract.