Sexism in language

GOOD PRESENTATION

1. BS English 8 th S emester Language and gender Presentation topic Sexism in language Presented by Lubna Roll no 13 Submitted to Ma’am Ayesha

2. FEMINISM Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing and defending equal political, economic and social rights for women. Feminism is the belief that women should have equal rights to men. In consequences ,the feminist movement fights for equal rights and opportunities for women. Origin Charles Fourier, a utopian socialist and French Philosopher, is credited with having coined the term “feminism” in 1837.

3. Waves of feminism The history of the modern feminist movements is divided into three “waves”. First wave of feminism Second wave of feminism Third wave of feminism

4. First wave of feminism First wave of feminism began in late 19 th and early 20 th centuries and mainly concerned with women ‘s right to vote. Second wave of feminism Second wave of feminism began in (1960s-1980s) and campaigned for legal and social rights for women. Second wave of feminism is also called Women Liberation Movement. Language was a particular feature and target of Western women’s movements. Third wave of feminism Third wave of feminism began in (1980s-2000) and campaigned for representation of women at all levels of government.

5. Sexism Sexism is discrimination of a person based on their gender. Sexist language Sexist language is language that express bias in favor of one sex and thus treats the other sex in a discriminatory manner. This bias is in favor of men and against women. Thus the language is presented as a powerful tool of patriarchy. The existence of sexist language is due to sexism in society .In the past women are supposed to stay at home , remaining powerless and generally subordinate to man, whereas men are considered as the center both in the family and society.

6. According to Hudson sexism in English language has existed for a long time , which is reflected of the traditional ethics that men are superior to women . In this order of idea Deborah Cameron work , reveals that men originate from Mars and women originate from Venus. Given this evidence that some gender differences do exist. Thus as a special social phenomenon , sexism is inevitably through language and sexism in language reflects sexism in society. Weitz (2003) has highlighted that throughout history women’s bodies have centrally affected the structures within which women live. Females are described as passive, for example Mother Nature objects such as cars and boats are mostly deemed female.

7. Sexism in English English language is a sexist language it become clear from the following observations . Taking into account the fact that humanity is divided into two spheres: the sphere of males and the spheres of females, it can be revealed a major ambiguity concerning the subject if the language is made by men or by women .Even though, English countries claim that all people are born equal ,there are a lot of inequalities between men and women. It is put stress on this topic because according to sociolinguistics research, this inequality is reflected in language and this phenomena sexism in language represents one of the major issues in sociolinguistic studies.

8. Sexism in words In English there are many words ,which are clearly male- oriented in that they contain the element “man” while they can in fact apply to both sexes. For example Chairman ,congressman , policeman ,newsman, mailman , salesman etc.

9. Sexism in English is also showed in the noun of feminine gender can only be obtained by adding a certain bound morpheme to a noun. For example: Man woman Manager manageress Hero heroine God goddess Some English words, especially the name of some professions, are basically of common gender ,can be applied to both sexes.

10. For example: Doctor lady doctor Professor woman professor Lawyer lady lawyer According to Robin Lakoff that a sexist language take male -as – norm attitude while female norms have a less positive connotation than males. Thus Lakoff uses the example of ; Master vs mistress to make the point that there are unequal connotations that surround these two unequal terms.

11. Germaine Greer, in her book Female Eunuch (1972) notes how ‘terms of endearment’ for women are also terms for food like; honey, sweetie, sugar .By calling women with such names shows women oppressed condition in society. The way women get addressed by Miss, Mrs , or Ms , shows their marital status while men are only addressed by Mr . which is a term that shows their gender, not marital status. Stereotyped images of men and women are based on oversimplified generalizations of what women and men should be and how they should behave. Such images are often not only inaccurate but also severely hamper the representation of the changing roles of the sexes in society.

12. For example: A man and his wife , man and wife .In these examples women are described and defined in terms of their relationship to men. Men, however, are hardly ever described in terms of their relationship to women. Women are primarily described in terms of their physical appearance .This concentration on physical attributes to the exclusion of other features seldom occurs in the description of men. Male and female stereotyping occurs frequently in relation to occupations and gender roles.

13. For example: Women employed outside the home are described in terms of being the ‘wife of’ ‘mother of ‘or ‘daughter of’. Portrayals of men in their professional roles seldom described them as ’father of’ ,’husband of’ and the like. Sexism in proverbs Proverbs are certain condensation of one language. Therefore the sexism reflected perfectly in proverbs.

14. For example: A woman ‘s tongue cracks bones. A woman is like a lemon; you squeeze her and throw away. Not only in English but also in many other languages, women are the victim of evil- intentioned jokes or proverbs. Afghan jokes and folklore are blatantly sexist , such as this proverb: “If you see an old man , sit down and take a lesson ;if you see an old woman, throw a stone”. These proverbs shows that women are discriminate on the basis of their gender

15. Conclusion: sexist language excludes , marginalizes or discriminates against people on the basis of their gender and creates an unfair distinction between women and men.

16. Thank you For Listening My Presentation