Women's Studies

Sierra Prothers, 10/25/05

The English language is deeply rooted with words that have sexist connotations which lead those who speak the language to subconsciously categorize people by their gender. “The language that a cultures uses is telltale evidence of the values and beliefs of that culture.”(Nilsen 277). This leads me to think about the relationship and the impact that our language has on our society and culture. Does our sexist language contribute to or have a significant impact on how we think of men and women and is it necessary to have a gender neutral language in today’s society? Our society should recognize and be concerned about our extremely gender-bias language and the growing impact that it is having on our society by perpetuating negative gender stereotypes.

What does it mean to have a gender-neutral language? Creating a gender-neutral language would mean that the terms we use would not specify a specific gender or it would be inclusive to both sexes. Gender-neutral terms would refer to “someone” rather then to just males or just females. A gender-specific language refers to one gender however in a non-sexist way. For example, a female business executive will be leading the meeting today. Because the example did not use busines sman it is not considered bias. As the article “Sexism in English: A 1990’s Update” pointed out the English language is very much a gender-bias. This means that many of the terms that the English language uses are exclusive to a specific gender, most often females. Using such words support bias implications and imply irrelevant gender classification and negative stereotypes.

Commonly used gender-bias words often have “man” within them, for example policeman, fireman and mankind. These words classify a group of people as male even if the group consists of both females and males . They also suggest that males are superior to females by not being inclusive to both genders which lead to negative sexual connotations. Other examples of common gender-bias terms include.

Gender-Bias Term Gender-Neutral Term

Mankind Humankind

Policeman Police officer

Fireman Firefighter

Chairman Chairperson

Freshmen First year

Waiter/Waitress Server

Snowman Snowperson

Mailman Mail carrier

“You guys” “ya’ll”

Businessman Business executive

Steward/Stewardess Flight attendant

Congressman Congressional representative

Salesman Salesperson/ Sales Clerk

Caveman Prehistoric people

Milkman Milk vender/carrier

Repairman Repairer/repairperson

Fisherman Fisher

Forman Boss/leader

First basemen First base player

Brotherhood Kinship

Manning Staffing

Manpower Workforce

Actress Actor

Security man Security officer

Cowboy Rancher

Gunman Shooter

Mountain man Mountaineer

Weatherman Meteorologist

Anchorperson News reporter

Masculine based words reinforce the idea that men are more powerful and have higher priority over women. A women’s femininity becomes invisible when they accept being categorized by male gender-biased terms. It also means that women are only being recognized when classified in a masculine group. However can women truly be included or accepted as an equal to men? Within our society we know that even if women are categorized within male based terms it does not mean that men and women are treated as equals. If this were true, sexist connotations would no longer exist and we wouldn’t be discussing the need for a gender-neutral language. Women are often referred to by the use of male base terms but if a male is referred to as female it is taken as an extreme insult. This is just another example that supports the fact that our language is sexist. It once again implies that males are the stronger more dominant sexual beings and females are the weaker more docile and insignificant gender. Some people feel as though women who are willing to be classified by male based terms do so just to feel included in a higher status? However there are very few commonly used gender-neutral terms that refer to women so therefore they have no choice as to how they are labeled. I think that if a woman can not be recognized by her appropriate gender in our own language then how can we expect women to be treated equally within our society? How are men and women ever going to be considered equal sexual beings when women still receive unequal salary and health care benefits and are seen as objects of lesser value? The English language is the starting point to the expansion of sexist stereotypes in our culture. I think because the gender-biased terms we use in our language are so ingrained in our minds the people who use sexist terms are necessarily sexist themselves. Very few people who use sexist words do so with bad intentions, it is just subconsciously done so. But we must ask ourselves if using such language will produce significant consequences within our society. In order to determine this you must also consider if language reflects or enhances sexism in our society. Sherryl Kleinman who wrote “Why Sexist Language Matters” believes that “language merely reflects reality and so we should ignore our words and work on changing our unequal gender arrangements that are reflected in our language.” Well this is a valid point and a popular opinion I believe that changing the structure of our language may alter our social practice but more likely will make people aware of the existing sexism in our language. This can be accomplished by replacing generic gender-bias terms with gender-neutral terms such as in the examples above. Why is it important to have a gender-neutral or gender-specific language? Because our language is so deeply rooted within our culture it affects the lyrics of songs and the words used in advertisements which perpetuate negative stereotypes. These negative stereotypes then influence how children interpret sex roles. Language is immediately shaping and determining what children learn are appropriate social expectations according to their gender. The gender stereotypes that are learned at a young age are reinforced by both our language and our culture which creates a continuous loop of negative gender stereotypes. According to Artz, Munger and Purdy “research indicates that sexist language, by itself, can produce negative consequences. Research indicates that it suggests superiority of the masculine over the feminine.” “it results in women being ignored, deprecated, or negatively stereotyped.” This research proves that our langue should be altered if we expected to change gender stereotypes in our society.

Sexism in the English language may be difficult to recognize at first because it is do embedded in our speech. Nevertheless sometimes it is the subtle forms of sexism such as language that contribute to the reinforcement and sustaining of gender stereotypes. Our concern about sexism in the English language should be focused on words that describe or categorized a group as a whole based on gender through its connotations. I’m not implying that the English language be completely re-written however written and verbal changes should be made by replacing gender-bias terms with gender-neutral terms. I believe this will ultimately help sustain the idea that women are not objects but equal sexual beings.

Bibliography

Artz, Nancy, Jeanne Munger, Warren Purdy. “Gender Issues in Advertising Language.” Women & Language. 22 (1999): 20-26.
Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Lamson Library

Hardman, M.J. “The Sexist Circuits of English.” Humanist 56 (1996): 25-32.
Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Lamson Library

Kleinman, Sherry. “Why Sexist Language Matters.” Psychology of Women Quarterly 25 (2002): 299-304.
Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Lamson Library

Nielson, Allen P. “Sexism in English: A 1990s Update.” Reading Women’s Lives.
Pearson Custom Publishing, 2005.

Sankis, Lizabeth M, Thomas A Widiger, Elizabeth M Corbitt. “Gender Bias in the English Language.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 77 (1999): 1289-1295.
Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Lamson Library

Leigha Leary
The F Word-Feminism in the United States
Dr. Robin DeRosa
October 19, 2005

Antioch …. Think Again

Let’s take a typical scenario which involves date rape. Jen goes to a University and she is getting ready for a night out on the town with her friends. She picks out a slightly revealing outfit to wear, applies her makeup, and ventures off to a party at the hottest fraternity on campus. She has a few drinks that night; a couple of those are drinks she has picked up off of a table which later she finds out had a date rape drug in it called rohypnol or “roofies.” She is raped that night because of her inability to be aware of what is going on. I’m sure many women across the world have experienced what Jen has gone through; a horrible, life changing experience. Policies are made throughout society to prevent date rape but in reality there is no cure or policy that will cure the hate crime of date rape. Policies such as the “ Antioch ,” featured in Swept Awake! Negotiating Sex on Campus will never work. I will prove why the antitouch policy is inadequate throughout my research after providing some background information on what date rape exactly is.

According to the Wikpedia dictionary acquaintance rape or “date rape,” which is the term I will be using throughout my paper, is non consensual sexual activity between two people who already know each other, whether it is two people on a date, a friend, or in a marriage. Date rape is a terrifying thing because the victim will be raped by an acquaintance or friend. Date rape is becoming increasingly common throughout the United States . Felicia Romeo has included in her article, Acquaintance Rape on College and University Campuses, “three-quarters of all rapes and sexual assaults against women, the perpetrator is known to the victim” (Romeo).

Date rape is often associated with drugs that alter a person’s inhibition. These drugs can be extremely dangerous. Womenshealth.gov states, “The drugs often have no color, smell, or taste and are easily added to flavored drinks without the victim’s knowledge.” This is terrifying because women can be at a party and acquire a drink without even knowing there is a drug mixed into it. The effects of Rohypnol are dizziness, nausea, sleepiness, and the scariest effect is you can’t remember what happened while you were drugged (Date rape drugs). A rapist drug of choice is royhypnol, because the victim will not remember the attack. Statistics tell you how many people are being raped, but what about the instances that are not even reported because of the loss of memory while it was happening? Date rape is terrifying and complicated because you can be drugged and attacked and not even remember, letting the rapist get away with it. It seems like with all this new technology and hard work scientists have done to invent new drugs; rapists exploit the purpose of these drugs and use it towards their criminal advantage. Years ago I highly doubt they heard of rohypnol.

Now in the 21 st century, rape is on many women’s minds. We fear of being drugged at a party or raped in an alley. Society seems like it is becoming much more dangerous than ever before. Women these days have to take precautions everywhere they go. We hear professionals, friends, and family say, “Don’t walk alone at night,” “carry a whistle with you at all times,” and “walk with a friend.” Yes, those statements are useful advice, and most women follow those instructions, but it just seems like we are always walking in the shadow of fear.

As I said earlier in my paper, rape is a non consensual sexual activity, so obviously consent in some sort should precede the act of sexual intercourse, whether both partners in a relationship are being swept away by the moment, or a person asks if one wants to engage in sexual intercourse. On that note, I disagree with a part of the article, Swept Awake! Negotiating Sex on Campus by Bonnie Pfister who examined the Antioch policy. “The emerging new code includes the apparently controversial idea that potential lovers should ask before foisting sexual attention on their partners, and that partners should clearly answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’” I disagree with that statement. I do not think that people who are in a committed relationship should have to verbally state the words, “yes” or “no” to sexual intercourse every time. You should not have to stop in the heat of the moment and clearly ask permission to have sex or not. The act of passion clearly states both partners desire sexual intercourse. When Calli Cary an Antioch spokeswoman states, “The assumption that this policy is about women saying no to men is based on the idea that men initiate sex all the time. But I know there are men on campus who feel the women are very aggressive.” That is exactly how I felt the first time I read, Swept Awake! Negotiating Sex on Campus. This policy clearly states that the men are always the ones asking for sex, and in reality there are many women who are the initiators. I feel the Antioch policy almost demeans women; we as women should not have to be told a policy of when and where to say no or yes. We do not need a policy to be told the obvious. I feel women are strong enough to stand up and voice their opinion, and no policy should state that is what should be done.

If I were to rewrite my own version of the Antioch policy I would have clearly stated that men and women are both the initiators and even women can be the aggressors. But again I still believe there is no policy that can prevent date rape, or any rape for that instance. To prevent this hate crime we need to step up as a society and work together. There are policies everywhere; you don’t see people following the rules just because it’s a policy, sometimes you see people rebelling just because they don’t want to conform to a rule or policy. I feel to help prevent date rape, places such as campuses need to step it up a level with security. Police officers should be patrolling streets at all times, even the less populated areas on campus, because those are where rapists carry out the crime. There should be mandatory self defense classes for women, which are incorporated into college curriculums. This would teach women what to do incase of an attack. I feel by negotiating an active policy as this one, date rape could decrease. Policies which make campuses act instead of a policy where they don’t require students to do anything would be more beneficial and successful for campuses around the world. I believe my policy would work a lot better than the “Antioch” policy because it’s teaching women to stand up for themselves, instead of being “infantilized” by being told to say the simple yet complicated words, “yes” or “no.”