A Beginner's Guide to Language and Gender

A Beginner’s Guide to Language and Gender

MM Textbooks

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Professor Viv Edwards, University of Reading, Reading, UK

Professor Ofelia García, Columbia University, New York, USA

Dr Aneta Pavlenko, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA

Professor David Singleton, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

Professor Terrence G. Wiley, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA

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MM Textbooks: 13

A Beginner’s Guide to Language and Gender

2nd Edition

Allyson Jule

MULTILINGUAL MATTERS

Bristol • Blue Ridge Summit

Dedicated to my sister, Joan Michelle Jule (Minnie), 1963–1988

and to my new little grandchild-to-be

and to all emerging feminist scholars.

DOI: 10.21832/JULE7869

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

Names: Jule, Allyson - author.

Title: A Beginner’s Guide to Language and Gender/Allyson Jule.

Description: Second Edition. | Bristol; Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters, [2017] |

Series: MM Textbooks: 13 | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016054516 | ISBN 9781783097869 (hbk : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781783097852 (pbk : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781783097890 (kindle)

Subjects: LCSH: Language and languages—Sex differences.

Classification: LCC P120.S48 J85 2017 | DDC 306.44—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016054516

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN-13: 978-1-78309-786-9 (hbk)

ISBN-13: 978-1-78309-785-2 (pbk)

Multilingual Matters

UK: St Nicholas House, 31-34 High Street, Bristol, BS1 2AW, UK.

USA: NBN, Blue Ridge Summit, PA, USA.

Website: www.multilingual-matters.com

Twitter: Multi_Ling_Mat

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/multilingualmatters

Blog: www.channelviewpublications.wordpress.com

Copyright © 2017 Allyson Jule.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

The policy of Multilingual Matters/Channel View Publications is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products, made from wood grown in sustainable forests. In the manufacturing process of our books, and to further support our policy, preference is given to printers that have FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certification. The FSC and/or PEFC logos will appear on those books where full certification has been granted to the printer concerned.

Typeset by Nova Techset Private Limited, Bengaluru and Chennai, India.

Printed and bound in the UK by Short Run Press Ltd.

Printed and bound in the US by Edwards Brothers Malloy, Inc.

‘This is not your fault, but it is your problem’.

Alex Bilmes, Editor-in-Chief,

Esquire, March 2016: 126

Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue to the Second Edition

Part 1: Understanding Gender and Language Use

1:The Emergence and Direction of the Field

Feminism: A Quick Review

Sex and Gender

LGBTQ Terminology

Neoliberalism, the New Feminism and Globalization

Summary Statements

Study Questions

Recommended Reading

2:Language as Gendered

Language and Power

Social Constructionism

Critical Discourse Analysis and Gendered Discourses

Summary Statements

Study Questions

Recommended Reading

Part 2: Understanding Gender and Language Use in Various Contexts – Brief Introductions

3:Gender and Language Use in the Media and Technology

Gender Identity and the Mass Media

Advertising Gender

Media Discourse

Talk Shows, the News, TV and Film

Technology as Mediated Community

Gaming and a Non-Gendered Community

Girls and Technology

Summary Statements

Study Questions

Recommended Reading

4:Gender and Language Use in Education

Gender, Achievement, the Hidden Curriculum and Linguistic Space

What Do We Call the Toilets?

The Teacher as Gender Coach; Classrooms as Gender Stage

Speaking About Sex

Reporting Sexual Violence on Campus

Silence as a Participation Strategy

Summary Statements

Study Questions

Recommended Reading

5:Gender and Language Use in the Workplace

Framing Gender in Workplace Relationships

Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling

Gender at Work

Lean In: Gender and Styles of Leadership

Summary Statements

Study Questions

Recommended Reading

6:Gender and Language Use in Religion: Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Gender in the World Religions

Talking of God as Male

Gender-neutral Language

Gender and Expressions of Morality

The Myth of Gender

Gender Issues in Islam

Summary Statements

Study Questions

Recommended Reading

7:Gender and Language Use in Negotiated Relationships

The Role of Social Talk

Participating in Family Life

Gender and Friendships

Politeness and Complimenting

Summary Statements

Study Questions

Recommended Reading

8:An Anti-Conclusion

Glossary

References

Index

Acknowledgments

This second edition was made possible by spending my sabbatical year at the International Gender Studies Centre at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford. The warmth of the scholars at the IGS Centre created an intellectually stimulating place. Being part of the University of Oxford was wonderfully motivating and energizing, and I couldn’t have completed this manuscript without that opportunity.

I feel deep gratitude for my colleagues at Trinity Western University’s Gender Studies Institute and the many TWU students who take Gender Studies courses and regularly attend monthly evening discussions. Also, my colleagues in the School of Education have been endlessly supportive.

Anna Roderick and the team at Multilingual Matters have been incredibly helpful and encouraging throughout the process of seeing this manuscript published. I am so grateful to Julie Sutherland and her ‘good eyes’ in editing the script. I am also, as ever, thankful to Cheryl Wall for her steady help on the manuscript. Her kindnesses are too many to mention. Thank you, my dear friend.

Finally, my family’s support is central in all I do, and their generosity in giving me the time away and the space to think always makes all the difference. My deepest gratitude goes to my husband, Marvin Lemke, and our son, Clark, and our daughter, Jane and our son-in-law, Jeremy. Thank you. Always.

Prologue to the Second Edition

The 2008 publication of The Beginner’s Guide to Language and Gender was successful in its primary goal to be accessible as a first text for those interested in understanding the connection between gender and language. The book has been referenced in many places, including Time magazine’s March 12, 2014 issue, in the article entitled, ‘How not to sound like a sexist jerk’. The book received positive reviews in many academic journals and is listed in An Interdisciplinary Bibliography on Language, Gender and Sexuality, 2000–2011 (entry 1422). Yet, with the incredible recent changes in the world regarding gender and language, it seems time for an update. The 2008 book appears to have been helpful to a wide range of people who were seeking a basic introduction to the wild and wonderful world of gender studies and who wanted to know more about how the language we use connects to our gender identities. It is the intention of this edition to continue in the same way.

The world has changed a great deal over the past few years on a wide range of gender issues. For example, little attention was paid to transgenderism in 2008, but there is now significant public discourse on the issue. The very public transformation of Caitlyn Jenner in 2015 found its way to the cover of Vogue magazine and sparked a new focus in regards to gender identity. In addition, there have been an increasing number of conversations in the West concerning the use of the veil among women Muslim communities and/or how gender is a part of Islamic communities in general and in the current terrorist organizations in particular. These were issues not on the radar in 2008. More attention has also been given to the notion of the continuum of gender identity in various settings, particularly revealed and lived out on social media. The steady changes in technology have also meant new contexts regarding gender and social actions. Various public awareness campaigns such as Ban Bossy, I am a girl and Emma Watson’s HeforShe reveal how public discourse has shifted more toward the connecting of language and gender than appeared only a few years ago. It seems the world has caught on to the power of language in meaning-making and in framing gender/sexual identities. In addition, international attention on climate change has also been heavily influenced by the work of eco-feminists and their critique of capitalism and neoliberalism. Arguably, the last 10 years have seen more attention given to gender and language than in any other period in history.

We are so much more aware of gender as a key variable in who and what we are and, specifically the concern here, in how we use language to inhabit our spaces and places. It is now well understood that women and men need to work together to make the kind of world that is just and sustainable for all of us. Catherine Redfern and Kristin Aune (2013) discuss the recent developments in feminism, in particular the new feminism, that is attracting fresh and vibrant young people to the field. British actor Emma Watson is an example of a vibrantly engaged new feminist. More and more young people are engaging with the field after what has seemed to be a period of apathy that expressed a kind of ‘battle fatigue’ concerning feminism. The stakes seem higher than ever as we face yet more complexity related to how gender issues fit into some of the world’s most pressing problems: Islamic terrorism; the refugee crisis; gender-based violence on university campuses and in conflict zones; increasing poverty in developing countries; shifts in geo-political alliances; climate change; assaults on Western democracies; and the risk for girls and young women in simply seeking an education in many areas of the world. It is because of these concerns that many scholars, such as Redfern and Aune (2013), see a ‘new excitement in the feminist movement which seems to be growing exponentially’ (p. x).

This second edition carries on the success of the first in its being accessible to those new to this field of study. In this regard, the second edition is brief, readable and engages with current theories and research. The first edition clarified where the study of spoken language use and gender as a social variable intersected with other disciplines including sociolinguistics, women’s/gender studies and cultural studies, etc., as well as some of the connections made in key contexts of our lives, such as the media, schools, in the workplace, the Western church and within family life. Here, these topics are revisited and, in some cases, reimagined.

This edition includes new discussions on sexuality, technology, the effects of neoliberalism in society concerning gender roles and demands, religions more widely conceived, and gender-based violence in a variety of contexts. As such, A Beginner’s Guide to Language and Gender – 2nd edition comes as a needed update on the ever-widening arena of gender issues alongside language use and language changes. It is my hope to encourage those with an emerging interest in the field to understand some of the past and current complexities surrounding gender and language to make sense of the present and to consider some new directions that are already forming. In many parts of the world, language remains a means of oppression used to ensure that women in particular do not share power equally with men. I believe that if we can make hidden assumptions about gender and language more explicit, then we can play a part in making this world a better and safer place to live as scholars and as human beings. I also have no doubt that yet another edition will become necessary before too long as gender, sexuality and language together continue to shift and continue to engage new scholars. The study of language and gender will long continue to be one of the most compelling areas of study around the world so, as they say, stay tuned.

Allyson Jule

Vancouver, BC

Part 1

Understanding Gender and Language Use

1

The Emergence and Direction of the Field

I don’t know why people are so reluctant to say they’re feminists.

Could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when

‘feminism’ is a bad word?

Ellen Page

Gender roles and behaviors have interested me my whole life. I grew up with an older brother and sister and, like everyone else, my early life experiences were heavily influenced by the sex I was born with. In my cultural context, this meant that I had a pink bedroom and was absolutely delighted to receive Barbie dolls for Christmas. My mother was a nurse, a good cook and an attentive homemaker; my father ‘went to work’, cut the grass and took care of the car. In short, I grew up with stereotypical gender modeling around me. Until I came to recognize the inequalities embedded within the gender distinctions that these models presented, I saw being a girl as unproblematic. After all, I liked Barbie dolls – as did my sister. We felt no oppression. My life goal to be a language teacher seemed very possible and realistic; Minnie found work in a floral shop. Without extraordinary effort, I qualified as a teacher in due course. In many ways, I am a ‘typical’ woman: I am married to a man, I have children, I like to decorate and read, and I have chosen a profession easily open to women: education. Would these realities have been the same had I been born male or not heterosexual? Perhaps. Likely not.

The lived realities of being female, feminine, male or masculine is central here in relation to language use. There are two reasons why I am writing this handbook on gender and language use. One is that being formed, rehearsed and rewarded by my culture into performances of gender and gendered life choices predicts lives like mine. This universal human reality (that we are deeply connected to our communities through our genderedness) is in and of itself reason enough to consider the complexities and the implications of gender. The second reason is that rehearsals into genderedness are most fascinatingly revealed in language use, language tendencies and language patterns. An interest in the relationship of language use and one’s gender emerged from my experiences as a classroom language teacher. I noticed over the years that the boys and girls in my classrooms were having quite distinct experiences.

One example of gendered tendencies as expressed in language use is the way I have begun to write this book. I have already used a gendered tendency by using personal anecdote. This is the writing ‘voice’ I am most comfortable to use. Why might this be? Apparently, this personal revelation style is something understood by my society as ‘feminine’ because it is viewed as