Language is a complex system of communication that connects people to one another in the means of both verbal and written displays. The language and discourse that society participates in is a product of social construction. From the time when we are born, we are labeled by pronouns “he” and “she” associated with the gender binary of being either a boy or girl and with that label, the language that surrounds either gender is vastly different. The study of gender is correlated with the study of language. When we describe little girls the discourse often used is sweet, cute, pure, innocent, etc. However, the discourse that surrounds little boys is tough, strong, manly, aggressive, etc. This dialogue is a representation of the descriptions that children embody to conform to their assigned gender. When we participate in gendered communication it derives powerful connotations in reference to one's own development.
With language, we come up with labels, stereotypes, characteristics, descriptions, etc. This plays a role in the construction of our society to be socialized and characterized by gendered roles. The language we use becomes so common that it characterizes our perception of both men and women ascribing to certain “masculine” and “feminine” traits. The linguistic forms of verbal communication enforce the continuation of the social hierarchy (Strand, 1999). Where discourses surrounding gender comes in and describes males to be “dominant” and females to be “submissive”. The creation of language is a product of social construction that reinforces certain ideals placed on each gender.
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By using anatomical sex to differentiate between people into two gender categories has been the foundation of society. Revolving around the fundamentals of varying genitalia as a source in creating a dichotomy within society. This enables the construction of a hierarchical system that supports this idea that one gender is more dominant than the other therefore allowing for inequality to take place between these genders. Therefore two different scripts are meant to be followed which constitutes the way a person is supposed to behave and be accepted within society. When one is socialized through gender-specific language it is easier to conform to a specific gender. The language that is associated and embodied by each gender allows for this to become inherently natural.
The way we develop this language starts off when we are younger when we are taught by parents, teachers, friends, etc. to categorize. Often times with children from a young age they begin to stereotype people and behaviors in order to differentiate. They tend to follow along with the discourse they hear and the gender displays seen to embody them and distinguish which role they play. When boys are reinforced they learn that being a girl or anything associated with “femininity” is bad so they follow along and conform to a more “masculine” identity. It goes the same for girls who may try embodying what’s considered “masculine” characteristics they are disciplined by being told that “it’s not ladylike” in efforts to conform to more “feminine” qualities (Meyerhoff, 2013). During early childhood years, the language and discourse that surround children are highly influential through their development. It showcases what is considered to be “right” from “wrong” and what role they should be disciplined into playing based on society’s idea of gender.
The language we use is a powerful tool and the way we use it is derived from a hegemonic system valued within society. It can be said that the “male” language is the ideal form and “women” language is not creating a dichotomy (Coates, 2016). This dominating male language is seen even when describing girls from the words “fe-male”, “wo-man/men”, “ s-he”, “he-r”. Having these identificatory words include the opposite gender within its own context shows the impact of the dominating gender being interlinked with language in society. The social difference between male and female roles affects communication and the use of language. The way that men speak is often direct, powerful, entitled, assertive, etc. However, the opposite can be said for women who are more reserved, timid, indirect, compliant, etc. This comes from the socialization of boys and girls where these ways to interact become learned (Coates, 2016). Therefore it inherently becomes natural to conform within the binary. Gendered-specific language is normalizing these ideologies that encompass socially constructed gender differences.
Feminists have argued that gendered language contributes to sexist views and ideologies. This can be seen when we use masculine pronouns as all-encompassing such as when we reference “mankind ” to mean all of humankind or stating that something is “man-made” to mean artificially or machine-made (Cottier, 2018). This shows there is a value placed on the social hierarchy of gender itself. Even when communicating to a whole group when saying “ladies and gentlemen” this automatically assumes there is a gender binary system (Cottier, 2018). This way of speaking reinforces the ideologies already in place in society unconsciously affecting the way we perceive gender. Our speech indirectly is correlated to how we think and behave. It shapes our perception and this notion of gendered language is influencing our reality.
The speech patterns associated with males and females differ when they communicate. This can be seen through paralinguistic features which are the aspects of spoken communication that do not involve words such as nonverbal cues. Women tend to be more engaged in conversation and are more likely to use paralinguistics more than men. Women tend to use descriptive words especially when it comes to color words such as lavender, periwinkle, mauve, etc whereas men do not (Xia, 2013). When it comes to swearing it often is more common for men to do so rather than women who are socialized to embody feminine qualities of being docile and gentle. Women more likely to use words that show politeness, such as please and thank you and they use more euphemism (Xia, 2013).
When women engage in conversation she takes others into consideration rather than directly imposing her ideas onto others. Women would often use phrases or words such as “well, you know…, I think…, I suppose…..kind of, maybe I am wrong but…, etc.” (Xia, 2013). Where men are more direct and state what they think and want during conversations. Interruptions during conversations are more displayed by men rather than women they are eager to be heard and play an active role when communicating. Even the topics of the conversation differ from both genders men will focus on sports, politics, current news, etc. where women will focus on family, education, fashion, etc. This association is derived from the gender role and displays that are attributed to both genders where women are talking more on topics relating to the home and domestic activities and men’s topic revolves around with the outside world and economic activities (Xia, 2013).
There is a popular opinion that women talk more than men, it is not necessarily true. Both men and women participate in conversation however it’s the type of conversation that is directed to either gender. Men are more interactive during formal situations such as meetings while women are more interactive during an informal conversation (Xia, 2013). These fundamental practices of language that are directed to both gender differ based on the impact of societal influences. By upholding the patriarchy men have the power over everything and that includes women. Women’s social status impacts their voice to appear unassertive being that they are inferior to men within society. “They tend to discuss, share and seek reassurance. On the contrary, men tend to look for solutions, give advice and even lecture to their audience” (Xia, 2013). This reinforces the secondary status that women have in society and allows this kind of language to continue to influence the inequality between men and women.
Language is so gendered in that there are specific words that are exclusively used to describe men and women. This can be said for most derogatory terms that are used to reference either gender. Derogatory terms that are primarily associated with women tend to be slut, hag, bitch, airhead, tease, etc. For men, on the other hand, they are assholes, wuss, dick, pussy, loser, etc. From these offensive terms, men and women tend to be evaluated differently (James, 1998). Most insults regarding men are to make them feel powerless by being labeled as a pussy and weak involves being incompetent. This incompetence is interlinked with the status of women being the weaker and submissive gender within the social hierarchy. Most insults for women are based on sexuality and being sexually available versus unavailable. The evaluation for women is also on the idea conforming to the desires and needs of heterosexual men. This reflects that language is associated with a male-centered view of the world (James, 1998). The male point of view is an indication of being valued by other men not to be seen as weak or be categorized with women.
There are also indications of the way intelligence is viewed between males and females. The connotations that are referenced for females is that there is nothing relevant in a woman's head when they are described as airheads, ditz, bimbo, brainless. The connotations that are associated with men is that there is something there that shouldn’t be when described as shitheads, meathead, bonehead, stupid (James, 1998). This implies that it is more common for women to unintelligent when compared to men. The way these words are used is a reflection of how impactful they are during a conversation between genders. Those insults used for men tend to imply a heavier demeaning sense of criticism. Whereas for women it is lighter and tends to be said in a joking fashion rather than implicating a serious tone. This suggests that it is a flaw for a man to be unintelligent which coherently goes along with the male gender role of being successful, powerful, and competent (James, 1998).
Males are also seen to mistreat others more than women when they are described as assholes, pricks, bastards, motherfuckers, etc. Men’s socialization of being “masculine” encourages this behavior of acting aggressively. Those who are taking these masculine gender roles too far and violating rules are often associated with these insults. These terms such as bastard and motherfucker can also be used as affirmations from other men who admiring one's authority and power which reinforces these gender roles. Men hold more power than women and are in positions where they seek entitlement which can lead to the misuse of that power they have within social situations (James, 1998). However, when women mistreat others it is typically associated with words like bitch, ballbuster, pushy, bossy, etc. The connotations of these words are different compared to men. This implies that women are violating basic social rules while also violating their gender roles of being submissive, docile, and passive (James,1998). Having dominance over men is considered to be out of the norm and having this assertive behavior is considered to be unfeminine.
There are also those offensive terms that link men to women who appeared to be more strongly derogatory than terms linking women to men (James, 1998). This indicates that the worst thing a man can be called is being called homosexual implying that they are displaying feminine qualities. The worst thing a woman can be called are terms like bitch and slut rather than a term relating to masculine qualities. Men lose status when they are compared to being like a woman and are seen as not abiding by their assigned gender roles. For women being compared to being more masculine heightens their status because they are displaying dominating qualities. It is less insulting for women to be deemed as masculine rather than where it is more insulting for a man to be deemed as feminine. The social hierarchy that is in place contributes to this notion of power and what it seemed to be the ideal gender.
In general, both female and male derogatory terms are a reflection of the construction of gender. Males are primarily evaluated by how competent they are by functioning within their masculine roles which are upheld by gaining and maintaining their male status from the approval of other male figures. Females, on the other hand, are primarily evaluated from the heterosexual male’s desires and needs and how well women can conform to their standard of femininity. These include being attractive, supportive, submissive, having average intelligence, being faithful, quiet, etc (James, 1998). This is a reflection of how much value is placed through a male’s perspective within society. “The power these labels can wield constitutes an important way in which language pressures individuals to conform to these gender roles” (James, 1998).
The growth of social awareness changes this notion of prejudicial language. By changing the dialogue it is becoming easier to be more inclusive in the way we speak and combat that divide created by gendered language. This new age of looking into our deeply rooted societal norms is influencing change. Instead of following this gender binary system that has been ingrained into our lives since the beginning of becoming more gender-fluid and seeing gender on a spectrum is changing the way we use our language. The importance of creating gender-neutral language is about denouncing gender roles but respecting gender identity. Instead of using terms such as mankind, policeman, chairman, etc. we now use humankind, police officer, chairperson and so forth (Gender-Inclusive, 2019). The result of gender-neutral language is changing the dialogue to benefit all groups of people and tear down the patriarchal norms.
This also goes for including gender-inclusive pronouns like they/them/ theirs and ze/zim/zir. In providing a holistic view of gender by breaking down these scripts it changes the conversation. Allowing everyone to be represented and not be confined to the binary of gender. Our cultural norms shape the hierarchy of our identity and the way we behave to be embodied by the language that surrounds us (Gender-Inclusive, 2019). Our discourse is ever-evolving and is continuously changing over time. With this new direction in our language, it gives us the opportunity to see how gendered our language is and the restriction it has on the expression of identities. By incorporating gender-neutral terms it avoids bias against a particular person or social group. By having gender-specific terms it confines one to either female or male roles.
However, this gender-neutral language is difficult to be placed within other languages such as Spanish, French, German, etc. where everything is labeled in either a feminine or masculine context (Cottier, 2018). English, however, can be modified into a different context of the gender-neutral form rather than gender-specific. For other languages around the world having gender-neutral language can not be done without stripping the entire language and creating a new language altogether. Although as for most languages the masculine gender overpowers the feminine and most words are used in the masculine form. Therefore by having more words used in the feminine form, it can create a balance within the language which is a step to being more inclusive.
Throughout history, language itself and how we use language have changed over time. It was more common for women to have less of a voice before women made a contribution for themselves to fight for their right to change the script. Language has come a long way since then and the way we use language is a reflection of the world and people around us. In the context of today, we are seeing gender as a spectrum and how those who are LGBTQIA are contributing to the dialogue and fighting for their voices to be represented. The discourse has evolved and it has expanded and will continue to expand as we see various perspectives. Creating more communication in order to give voice to the voiceless. To the point where our language can benefit all people and not just to mankind but to all of humankind. Having an equally balanced system in place to those who are accustomed to privilege within the society based on the discourse that surrounds them can reflect on how language has shaped their reality.
Language and gender are both a product of social construction and those within society are the ones who can change the dialogue. What is produced by society can also be changed with society and how we start a conversation and communicate on the issue with a gender-specific language. It is through language that we can instill new ideas and transform the way we speak and how we speak. Every language is built off of a framework and guidelines to follow. With that, the creation of gender-inclusive language is a developing framework of including all people. Taking the context that we have and creating a new way of thinking in order to break the binary and instill fluidity.
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