Sexism in Language

934 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Nature of Gender Inequality in Education

Throughout the years, sexism in language has been found to be a major issue in society. Women in society have been complaining about the unfairness toward their gender in ways. In the short essay, Sexism in English: Embodiment and Language by Allen Pace Nilsen, females were not considered as strong as males, and therefore they were giving a weak role in the society. Even in the text On language: You Guys by Audrey Bilger, women were not comfortable with the usage of the word “guys”, because they thought it took away femaleness. Also women were only known for their beauty, but not for their talent. Also, in the article of Ahmed Naufela Nafisa said that over the years sexism has been weaved into language system so subtly that people end up submitting to the sexists views without even realizing it. Due to fact that we live in a sexiest society, the use of sexist’s language reflects our sexist’s society. Back in time, females were not considered as strong as males were. In the essay by Nilsen it is stated that “I was shocked to observe how different were the roles assigned to males and females. The Afghan version of the chaderi prescribed for Moslem women was particular confining. Women in religious families were required to wear it whenever they were outside their family home, with the result being that most of them didn’t venture outside” (Nilsen 144). Women basically had to cover their face, whenever they went outside but men didn’t have to cover nothing. Women had no kind of rights in society besides stay home and do house work. They were not even allowed to attend school and work outside their homes. Also it is mentioned that “The idea that a bride is something to be handed over form one man to another brothers people because it... ... middle of paper ... ...nguage and not even notice it. Sexism in language is not same as before. Now women have the right to do many things in life. Importantly getting educated and gaining the respect that men did before. Not every part of the world has changed yet, but one day there has to be one. I personally used the term Guys and never realized until reading this article. But now that I know, I would change it and spread it out the world and make other realize it. Works Cited Ahmed, Naufela Nafisa. "BRAC University Institutional Repository." (2009-04). Bilger, Audrey. "On Language: You Guys." Isaacs, Giura, Keohane, Kitchen, Lubrano, and Maloy. Made With Words. 2nd Edition. Bedford/St.Martin's, n.d. Nilsen, Alleen Pace. "Sexism in English:Embodiment and Language." Isaacs, Giura, Keohane, Kitchen, Lubrano, and Maloy. Made with Words. 2nd Edition. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin's, n.d.

Show More
Related

  • My Forbidden Face by Latifa

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Taliban also require all women to wear a chadri (a veil that covers the woman's head, face, shoulders, and arms). In addition to veiling, which Lerner's book talks about, it is mandatory that women are accompanied by a man at all times when they are out in public. Also, women cannot wear brightly colored clothing or make-up under their chadri. In further attempt to keep women out of the public eye it is forbidden that women work. This is almost like what Mintz talks about in her book where in the 1950's women are not supposed to hold jobs or get a college education. In the 1950's it is for more of a social reason rather than law, but the same idea applies. Men frown upon the thought that their wives are more educated than them or that their wives have a job. Women are supposed to stay home and keep house.

    Read More

  • Gender: Annotated Bibliography

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender Matters is a collection of various essays on feminist linguistic texts analysis, by Sara Mills. Mills develops methods of analyzing literary and non-literary texts, in addition to conversational analysis based on a feminist approach. The author draws on data from her collection of essays gathered over the last two decades on feminism during the 1990s. The essays focus on gender issues, the representation of gender in reading, writing, and in public speaking. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of feminists’ analysis of sexism in literature and the relation between gender and politeness. The article is informative for my research paper, as my topic is going to cover language analysis of the text and who women reading and writing differs according to the discourse analysis within linguistic, psychology, case studies audiences and surveys. The book would be helpful, particularly the last three essays that discusses gender, public speaking, the question of politeness and impoliteness in public speaking. Mills’ analysis is not complete without including the idea of global notions of both women and men, to see whether women and men write and read in the same way globally. Therefore, an update would enrich the book’s discussion section. Although, Mills addresses the class and race theme in language and public speaking, I will only look into the role of language that plays a part in doing or reducing gender in literary, non-literary texts and in conversation.

    Read More

  • Sexism in The Work Place

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexism can have many negative impacts on the way women view themselves, research was conducted and it showed that when exposed to modern sexism, women expressed negative self-directed emotions. Modern sexism exposure also resulted in stereotypical self-presentation, where in contrast, women who were exposed to old-fashioned sexism displayed less self-defeating behavior. This research concluded that women were more likely to stand up and defend themselves against the old-fashioned gender stereotypes, but let the modern day expectations defeat them (Ellemers & Barreto, 2009).

    Read More

  • Summary Of Gender Differences In The Language

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    In recent years, gender differences have already been one of the most controversial issues in various research. As an important communication tool of mankind, language is inevitably involved in controversies. However, Rachel Rafelman, a Canadian journalist and the author of “The Party Line” express her thought and opinion in her essay. She not only have some great points on what and how women and men are likely to talk, but also have different points on the talking environment. She comes up with facts and fit real and particle examples in her essay to make it understood. Whereas, Ronald Macaulay, a professor of linguistics and the author of “Sex Difference” uses words of novels to argue and promotes them as a cause of reinforce to men’s and women’s stereotypes in his essay. He argues through his whole as rebuttal and gives some examples to oppose the preconceived notion of sex differences. Over all, both Rafelman and Macaulay are the good writer but Rafelman is having upper to prove her essay better organized using her tones as per requirement.

    Read More

  • Alleen Pace Nilsen's View of Sexism in English

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nilsen began this study of the dictionary not with the intention of prescribing language change but simply to see what the language would reveal about sexism to her. Sexism is not something that existing independently in American English or in the particular dictionary that she happened to read. Rather it exists in people's minds.

    Read More

  • Women as a Minority Group

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even after these prejudices were overcome, the education system still maintained sexism in both obvious and subtle ways. Books rein...

    Read More

  • Language, Gender, and Culture in Society

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sexism and Stereotypes

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    You are at an interview, the interviewer says that you are not qualified for the job because of your gender. What would you say? Sexism has caused stereotypes, and harassment in the workforce, and professional sports, therefore people should know more about sexism. Media is a powerful tool of communication, it produces both negative and positive impacts on society.

    Read More

  • The Negative Impact of Gender Roles in Othello

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    Early Modern English." Feminist Studies 19.2 (1993): 377+. JSTOR. Feminist Studies Inc.,. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • Gender as a Social Construct

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    Yieke, F. (2001). Gender as a Sociocultural Construct: A Sociolinguistic Perspective. Journal of Cultural Studies, 3(2), 333-347.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Swear Words

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... “Women’s Language.” In this “language” she says that women tend to use more color adjectives and more tag questions than men because of their uncertainty. Also, she stated that swearing is considered an act of power and it is possible that that is the reason as to why women are not “allowed” to say these words. Even in the Victorian Era, swearing was reserved to men because the rights of women were basically given to their husbands. This is where the “housewife” attributed to women began. Lackoff claimed that “the decisive factor is less purely gender than power in the real world” (1975). Swearing is not only seen as a male attribute but is reserved to people (men) who exert power. In our society, it seems that men believe they are the only ones who should have access to power. Therefore, “women’s language”

    Read More

  • The Portrayal of Women in Advertising

    2734 Words  | 6 Pages

    Women – beautiful, strong matriarchal forces that drive and define a portion of the society in which we live – are poised and confident individuals who embody the essence of determination, ambition, beauty, and character. Incomprehensible and extraordinary, women are persons who possess an immense amount of depth, culture, and sophistication. Society’s incapability of understanding the frame of mind and diversity that exists within the female population has created a need to condemn the method in which women think and feel, therefore causing the rise of “male-over-female” domination – sexism. Sexism is society’s most common form of discrimination; the need to have gender based separation reveals our culture’s reluctance to embrace new ideas, people, and concepts. This is common in various aspects of human life – jobs, households, sports, and the most widespread – the media. In the media, sexism is revealed through the various submissive, sometimes foolish, and powerless roles played by female models; because of these roles women have become overlooked, ignored, disregarded – easy to look at, but so hard to see.

    Read More

  • Joseph’s Dialect in Wuthering Heights

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clark, Virginia P., Paul A. Eschholz, and Alfred F. Rosa. Language: Introductory Readings. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. Print.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between Gender and Language

    1996 Words  | 4 Pages

    The book An Intorduction of Sociolinguistics is an outstanding introductary book in the field of sociolinguistics. It encompasses a wide range of language issues. In chapter 13, Wardhaugh provides a good insight to the relationship between language and gender. He explains gender differences of language-in-use with concise examples. Wardhaugh riases questions about sexist language and guides readers to look closer at how people use language differently because of their own gender in daily life. According to the Whorfian hypothesis, which indicates that the way people use language reflects their thoughts, different genders adapt different communication strategies.

    Read More

  • Gender And Language

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    How does language affect our interaction with other genders? Language is the basis of all interaction. The language we use is essential to other’s perceptions of us. We instinctively know this, so we cater our language to suit how we want to be perceived by others. Language is not the only factor in perception though. Other’s interpretation of our language is as important an ingredient in their perception of us as the language we use is. Our perceptions of each other, more than anything else dictate our interactions with each other. The essential question is does interpretation of language vary between genders?

    Read More

More about Sexism in Language

Open Document