GENDER & SOCIETY-MIDTERM
(e.g. workplace).
GENDER FAIR LANGUAGE
Language-“ Potent tool for how humans understand
and participate in the world.
What is its relation to gender?
➡Gendered assumptions are present in language.
➡Common Adjectives associated with a specific
gender.
Ex:Women (emotional, pretty, chaste, sensitive
Man (handsome, Stern, dominant, loud)
➡Gender Stereotyping.
Violations of GENDER FAIR LANGUAGE
SEXISM IN LANGUAGE-the use of language which
devalues members of one sex, almost invariably
women, thus fosters gender inequality.
SEXIST LANGUAGE-Is a tool that reinforces
unequal gender relations through sex-role
stereotypes, microaggressions, and sexual
harassment. Ex: Men cannot take care of children;
Women cannot be engineers.
INVISIBILIZATION OF WOMEN-rooted in the
assumption that men are dominant and that women
do not exist.
➡The generic use of masculine pronouns or the use
of a masculine general-mankind, guys.
➡The assumption that certain functions or jobs are
performed by men instead of both genders-“the
farmers and their wives tilled the land”,“politicians
and their wives lobbied for change”.
➡The use of male job titles or terms ending in man
to refer to functions that may be given to both
genders-Businessman, chairman.
Trivialization of Women-Bringing attention to the
gender of a person rather than the job or function.
(girl athlete, woman doctor ,lady guard,working
wives.)Perception of women as immature.Labeled as
“darling” or “baby”; making them appear childlike or
juvenile.Objectification; likening to objects of
women.Women called as “honey”, “sweets”, “chick”
can feel devalued especially in formal environments
➡This notion also works for men who enter
traditionally female jobs such as:
male nurses, male nannies, male secretaries.
FOSTERING UNEQUAL GENDER RELATIONS -
Language that lacks parallelism man and wife men
and girls.
GENDER POLARIZATION OF WORDS IN USE
OF ADJECTIVES-Ex: When men talk together, it is
called convention. But when women talk together, it
is called gossip.
HIDDEN ASSUMPTIONS
-A form of microaggression.The father is babysitting
his children.
Philippine Culture and Language
➡Filipino or Tagalog is mainly gender neutral.
➡Gendered words came from another culture, which
were adopted after 400 years of colonization.
➡Values and shaping of the education system were
influenced by Western powers and ideals.
➡Filipinos portray a mix of identities, an infusion of
both native and foreign perspectives and
values.identities and naming things.
LANGUAGE-Defines feminine, masculine, and
outside feminine or masculine.A tool for
understanding the world.Gives a person the power to
define oneself and the external world and one’s place
in it.Provides a definition of others as well, and one’s
relationship with them.People can reflect on their
own gendered identities, and battle the definitions
society imposes on them.
LANGUAGE EX:
SEXUAL HARASSMENT-was never seen as an
issue as it was never given a name.It is an unwanted
behavior in the workplace.Seen as something that
could not be contended with.It was ignored by those
in power as if it did not exist.Recognizing harassment
for what it is helped women around the world put
mechanisms that would address workplace
harassment.
DATE RAPE-women who experienced this had no
term to describe what occurred to them, but naming
their experience helped them come to terms with
their issue.

Sexist Language and Culture

➡Language-that admonishes certain acts depending
on one’s gender is a form of externalized social
control.Both a symptom and a perpetrator of
sexism.The very telling of how a society sees a
certain gender.
➡Common themes of a sexist language are the
commercialization and the trivialization of women.
➡Normalization of sexism = violence against women
and children will be viewed as acceptable and
tolerable.
➡Using language for gender stereotyping can
contribute to sexism by reinforcing the idea that
certain words and traits should only be associated
with specific genders.
➡Being sexist depends on a specific culture.
➡The attitude of a culture towards a certain gender
may influence the words used, creating sexist
language.

These sexist portrayals of women extend to the:

➡ADVERTISING INDUSTRY
➡ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
➡THE ARTS

TOWARDS A GENDER FAIR LANGUAGE

➡The use of gender-fair language in educational
institutions and the removal of sexist language as
imperative to gender responsiveness is currently
being advocated.