Language And Gender In Sherryl Kleinman's Article: Why Sexist Language Matter

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Language and Gender
Rachelle Dagher
Brigitte Ghorayeb
Ragheb Raad
1- Activity one:
Pictures on PowerPoint (fireman, cleaning lady). Conclusion: our language is sexist.
2- Why Sexist Language Matter by Sherryl Kleinman.
According to Sherryl Kleinman (2007) in the article “Why Sexist Language Matters”, changing the way we talk is a simple way to start overcoming gender inequality.
She discusses sexist language; her focus is on words that people consider okay such as male-generics:
Examples of male-generics are:
- Words that refer to a working position: postman, chairman, freshman, congressman, fireman.
- Words that refer to all human beings: “mankind”, “he”
- Expressions such as: “oh man”, “all men are created equal”, “you guys”, which are found everywhere in the world.
These examples of male-based generics prove that there is a system in both the language and the world in which men are privileged over women.
According to Kleinman, “Words are tools of thought”, and we can think in new ways in order to change the status quo.
There is so much gender inequality that women are expected to feel grateful when called “chairman” and “you …show more content…

Hence, it is only deductible that men be the most talkative since in situations where the status quo plays a role, higher status people are more loquacious. Yet, it has been proven that in informal situations, where status does not play a role, men and women are equally verbal. However, experiments have shown that one can reduce the claim that “men talk more” when a more female sensible/oriented subject is brought up. Following this line of logic, one will find that the reason women are thought to be more talkative in the domestic sphere is because they are held in charge of the family member,

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