Discourse in different

Phenomenon
Presented by:

• Minahil Kamran (section A eve)

• F20BENLG1E02038

• Muneeba jamil (section A eve)

• F20BENLG1E02016

• Altaf (Section B eve)

• F20BENLG1E02063

• Ahmad hassan khan (Section B eve)

 Feminism in discourse
Feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and
establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism
holds the position that societies prioritize the male point of view and that women are
treated unjustly in these societies
Why was Feminism needed?
• Women were not allowed to vote
• Women had to submit to laws when they had no voice in their formation
• Married women had no property rights
• Divorce and child custody laws favored men, giving no rights to women
• Women had to pay property taxes although they had no representation in the levying of these
 Feminism in discourse

Why was Feminism needed?

• Divorce and child custody laws favored men, giving no rights to women
• Women had to pay property taxes although they had no representation in the levying of these
taxes
• Most occupations were closed to women and when women did work they were paid only a
fraction
of what men earned
• Women were not allowed to have bank accounts
• Women were not allowed to enter professions such as medicine or law
• Women had no means to gain an education since no college or university would accept women
 Feminism in discourse

THE FIRST WAVE

The first wave in the late 19th-century was not the first appearance of feminist ideals,
but it was the first real political movement for the Western world. In 1792, Mary
Wollstonecraft published the revolutionary Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In
1848, about 200 women met in a church. They came up with 12 resolutions asking for
specific rights, such as the right to vote. Reproductive rights also became an
important issue for early feminists. After years of feminist activism, Congress finally
passed the 19th amendment in 1920 and gave women the vote. This was almost 30
years after New Zealand became the first country where women could vote.
 Feminism in discourse

DISCOURSE AND FEMINISM

Discourse analysis has become an increasingly popular approach to research across
the social sciences, and a particularly important tool for feminist psychologists.
"Feminism and Discourse" provides a showcase for a wide range of discourse
analytical work in psychology from a feminist perspective. It constitutes a thorough
critical evaluation of this approach for the feminist project of intellectual, social and
political change.
The 'Feminist' Phase - in the feminist phase, the central theme of works by female
writers was the criticism of the role of women in society and the oppression of
women. The 'Female' Phase - during the 'female' phase, women writers were no
longer trying to prove the legitimacy of a woman's perspective
 Feminism in discourse
DISCOURSE AND FEMINISM
Discourse analysis has become an increasingly popular approach to research across the
social sciences, and a particularly important tool for feminist psychologists. "Feminism
and Discourse" provides a showcase for a wide range of discourse analytical work in
psychology from a feminist perspective. It constitutes a thorough critical evaluation of
this approach for the feminist project of intellectual, social and political change.

The 'Feminist' Phase - in the feminist phase, the central theme of works by female
writers was the criticism of the role of women in society and the oppression of women.
The 'Female' Phase - during the 'female' phase, women writers were no longer trying to
prove the legitimacy of a woman's perspective
 Feminism in discourse

DISCOURSE AND FEMINISM

Feminist literature is fiction, nonfiction, drama, or poetry, which supports the
feminist goals of defining, establishing, and defending equal
civil, political, economic, and social rights for women. It often identifies women's
roles as unequal to those of men – particularly as regarding status, privilege,
and power – and generally portrays the consequences to women, men, families,
communities, and societies as undesirable.
• THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath
• LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott
• THE YELLOW WALLPAPER by Charlotte Perkins
Gilman
• A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN by Virginia Woolf
• THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Margaret Atwood
• THE SECOND SEX by Simone de Beauvoir
 Discourse As Ideology

What is discourse
Discourse refers to verbal or written communication involving a
particular topic, often characterized by its structure, style, and
context. It's not just the words used but also the way ideas are
presented, the social context in which they occur, and the
intended purpose behind the communication. It encompasses
conversations, debates, discussions, or any form of interaction
where ideas are exchanged.
 Discourse As Ideology

Ideology
Ideology is a system of ideas and beliefs that shapes how we
see the world , understand our place in it ,and make sense of
our experiences . It can be defined as a set of assumptions ,
values and norms that guide our thinking and action .
Ideologies can be political , social , religious and economic in
nature and they can be shared by individuals, groups or entire
societies.
Discourse As Ideology

Examples of Ideologies

 Capitalism vs Socialism
 Islamic Ideology vs Hindu Ideology
 Orientalism vs Occidentalism
 Discourse As Ideology

How Ideologies are expressed

Ideologies are often expressed through discourse , which is the
way we use language to communicate with each other.
Discourse can be used to promote, defend or critique particular
ideologies . For example , politicians often use discourse to
persuade voters to support their policies , while activists may
use discourse to raise awareness of social injustices.
 Discourse As Ideology

How people persuade the audience to their Ideology

Use of Rhetoric
• The art of persuasive speaking or writing . In detail, the art of convincing an
audience that it should listen to , and be persuaded by , the rhetoric’s
argument through the arrangement, delivery, and style of his or her message.
The Rhetorical Appeals
 Ethos
 Logos
 Pathos
 Discourse As Ideology

Ethos and its Example

• The speaker establishes credibility and trustworthiness.
• How to ….
 Demonstrate knowledge , experience or expertise.
 Establish common ground or relatability with the audience
 Demonstrate fairness

Ethos examples
 Professional degree or recognition
 Years of experience
 Common ground
 Discourse As Ideology

Logos

The speaker appeals to the audience’s sense of logic .

How to….
 Provide examples , facts and statistics
 Include expert testimonies

Logos examples

 Percentage and amount

 Real examples
 Expert insight
 Discourse As Ideology

Pathos
The speaker appeals to the emotions of the audience .
How to…..
 Use descriptive language
 Use figurative language, simile and metaphor
 Share personal or real stories

Pathos examples

 Evoking joy , excitement , fear , sadness and jealousy

 Sharing a tragic story of losing a loved one due to illness
 Discourse As Ideology

Discourse and Ideology

As Threadgold ( 1989) observes , texts are never ideology free nor are they
objective. Nor can they be separated from social realities and processes
they contribute to maintain . For Threadgold, spoken or written genres are
not just linguistic categories but among the very processes by which
dominant ideologies are produced, transmitted and potentially changed .
 Discourse As Ideology

How Ideologies are traced

One aspect that might be considered in this kind of analysis is the framing ( Gee
2004 , Blommart 2005 ) of the text ; that is , how the content of the text is
presented , and the sort of angle or perspective the writer , or speaker is taking .
Closely related to framing is the notion of foregrounding ; that is , what concepts
and issues are emphasized , as well as what concepts or issues are played down or
backgrounded ( Huckin 1997 , 2010 ) in the text .
 Discourse As Ideology

How Ideologies are traced

Example
A news article about a protest might frame the issue as a ‘ Riot ‘ or a ‘ Peaceful
demonstration ‘
This framing will influence how readers understand the protest and the people involved in
it.
 Power in discourse

Discourse
Discourse is the way in which language is used socially to
convey broad meanings.

Power
According to Luke(1973), power is the ability of a person to
influence other for his own purpose.
 Power in discourse

Power In Discourse

• Power in discourse refers to the influence and control that

individuals or groups have over communication.

• It is not just about the control over communication; rather,

it involves shaping the narrative, setting the agenda and
determing whose voices are heard and valued in a given
conversation
 Power in discourse

Tool of power in discourse

• Language is a tool of power in discourse. The way ideas are articulated, the choice
of words and the tone used can influence how a message is received.

• Individuals with linguistic dexterity and rhetorical skill may be more adept at
persuading others and gaining support for their views.

• Individuals or groups with less linguistic fluency or who use non-dominant

languages may find their voices marginalized or dismissed
 Power in discourse

Aspects Of Power In Discourse

• One aspect of power in discourse is the ability to frame the conversation.
For example, media outlets,politicians and influential figures often have the power to
set the agenda and prioritize certain issues
over others.

• Another aspect of power in discourse is access to internet platforms. In today’s

digital age, social media and online spaces have become powerful platforms for
communication. Those who have control to these platforms can amplify their voices
and reach a wider audience.
 Power in discourse

CDA And Power

• CDA takes particular interest in language and power. (Fairclough 2003)

says it is usually in language that discriminatory practices are enacted,
unequal relations of power a constituted and reproduced
 Gender in discourse

What is discourse?
 Discourse is spoken or written communication between people, especially
serious discussion of a particular subject.

 to speak or write formally and at some length

 In technical terms, discourse is a fancy word for a dialog or discussion.
For example, if you are debating the value of buffalo chicken wings versus
BBQ chicken with a friend; you are engaged in discourse.
 Gender in discourse

What is gender?
• Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are
socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a
woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with others. As a social construct,
gender varies from society to society and can change over time.

• Over the years, the perception of the issue ‘gender’ has been changing and
developing from essentialism to social constructionism. Essentialism suggests that
gender is a biological sex, by contrast, social constructionism suggests that gender is
constructed within a social and cultural discourse.
 Gender in discourse

Gender vs sex:
• Gender interacts with but is different from sex, which refers to the
different biological and physiological characteristics of females, males and
intersex people, such as chromosomes, hormones and reproductive organs.

Gender identity:
• Gender identity refers to a person’s internal and individual experience of
gender, which may or may not correspond to their sex at birth.
 Gender in discourse

Different Views on Gender

There are different perspectives of gender with respect to its complexity. In the
view of some academicians gender is only categorized into male and female but
this view is problematic when it is used to interpret the real world around us
because there are many cases that don’t neatly fit into the two socially accepted
categories. For example, in Indian culture, a hijra is considered a ‘third gender’
person, who is neither a woman nor a man. Most of them are male biologically or
intersex, and they usually disclose themselves as women at the language level
and dressing pattern.
 Gender in discourse

Different Views on Gender (cont…)

Sociologists, ethnographers and psychologists (Halford. & Leonard. 2000) have

argued that people are not born with behaviors and characteristics of being
masculine or feminine, but gender identity is developed within a culture and
society and is nurtured, by the culture.
 Gender in discourse

Gender as discourse
Discourse in terms of gender refers to “a whole range of different symbolic
activities, including style of dress, patterns of consumption, ways of moving, as
well as talking” (Edley, 2001, p.191).
Gender identity is constructed and reproduced through these symbolic activities
in a very broad sense. For example, within modern Chinese culture, masculinity is
considered as something like being tough, drinking alcohol, smoking, having good
sense of direction, having power and money. All these things are accepted and
naturalized characteristics of male within the culture.
 Gender in discourse

Gender as discourse
In Goffman’s (1976) terminology, ‘gender display’ focuses on behavioral aspects of
being men or woman. Gender is performed by individuals on a daily basis and the
everyday performance constructs gender within social and cultural discourse. In other
words, gender identity is constructed within regulative discourses.
 Gender in discourse

Gender as discourse
Though Goffman and Butler adopt different terms of ‘gender display’ and
‘performativity’ respectively from gender as discourse by discursive psychologists, they
actually provide support for discursive psychologists who maintain that gender is
constructed in and through discourse with symbolic interaction within social and
cultural norms. According to discursive psychology, gender identity is not permanent,
but in the course of being remade and reconstructed. However, reconstructing
identities is not a simple matter of voluntary action. Transforming the gender identity is
a matter of challenging discourse.