The Importance Of Gender Bias In Our Culture

There are more women actively working in equal positions as men. Now a days, there is a more open view that women should be treated as equals. Although the idea has changed drastically from a time period when women were only expected to be housewives, the tradition of using male based language has not changed. The language is not aligned with society. Some feminist groups may argue that people are too close-minded to recognize equality for women in writing. Some linguists may say that it is both grammatically and realistically hard to replace all the masculine pronouns with a new pronoun like “his’er” or phrases like “his or her”. Others just do not care about going through the risk of rewriting every single piece of literature in the world. As Fadiman quotes in her essay, “Either they want to change everything, or they don’t see what all the fuss is about”, people can either completely ban the idea of using masculine pronouns to represent humankind or keep the same tradition although the time has changed

"Gender Stereotyping in the English Language" written by Laurel Richardson in 2003, Richardson argues people use the English language in such a way that limits, depreciates and ultimately dehumanizes women . Richardson develops and supports this theory by proposing the notion that historically, women have not only been limited by the terms used to describe them, but women are raised to think they must be confined to subservient jobs,  that customarily require less skill. Richardson's purpose through writing this article is to highlight an issue often overlooked, in order to promote the appropriate and equitable use of the English Language. The author intends for this principle to be turned into practice among women, men and children developing linguistic habits.

In the excerpt “Why Do We Make So Much of Gender?”, from his 1997 book The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy, Allan Johnson argues gender through identity and culture. Johnson starts out by expressing opposition on how women are looked at through a patriarchal society and not the biology from which they came. He mentions the feminist argument that women in a patriarchal society are “oppressed” and that this comes from social order (545). He goes on to point out, the focus should be on raising children to adulthood rather than worrying about reproduction. Although, I agree with Johnson’s arguments, there are things in this world that cannot and should not be changed.

I found that gendered/sexed language, mainly the concept of language as an oppressor, to be helpful in creating a critical gendered lens. Concepts like semantic derogation, semantic imbalance, trivialization, and lack of vocabulary all outline the fact that language is completely gendered/sexed and unequal. Language can be used as a power source, both positively and negatively. It can be used to put others down, whether it’s through the use of derogatory terms or even just through the ways certain people speak and are spoken

Years later McConnell-Ginet (1989, as cited in McConnell-Ginet, 2011) began to study about language and gender in which it focused on speeches of men and women. Later in 2002, in investigating the characterisation of men and women in language, a study has been conducted that covered the sexism in language (Weatherall, 2002). Thus, the foundation of this research is based on the study of language and gender and its effect on

Deborah Tannen tackled this often glazed over topic in her essay “How Male and Female Students Use Language Differently.” The essay primarily focuses around Tannen’s experiences

In the fourth session, Kristen Keen talks about gendered language choices and how they affect how people relate in the society. Power based violence and the tendency of blaming victims has been on the rise in the society. The theme of the session is “She’s such a slut! Analyzing our gendered language choices and their impact”. Kristen Keen agrees that there is an increasing gendered language that has both negative and positive connotations and can either have positive or negative effects on how people relate.

Gender bias, also known as sexism, is a full of attitudes, laws, taboos, preferences, and behaviors that differentiates and discriminates against either sex. These may be a position of which male dominance and female subjugation in the modern society. It could also be a form of sexual stereotypes between men and women, these are commonly experienced in employment versus other positions. A final place that discrimination is faced is the academic environment, the female to male ratios are not in sync in certain programs and courses because of this and it is pressuring men and women to not go into certain fields and do what they love and please. Most advertisements on Television, magazines, newspapers, online ad’s, use a charged sexually image with a female as the star. Women are to be a pleasure for men, and nothing else. Many people have different opinions on genders and sexuality and that is okay, but sometimes you just need to keep them to yourselves.

Sowmya Rajendram identifies the definition of a bias as an inclination to hold a skewed or prejudiced opinion of something or someone and is either negative or positive. For example, the student that is the teacher’s pet never gets in trouble for anything or the same kid constantly getting in trouble in class. The definition of a gender bias however, is a little different. A gender bias in one of the many forms of a bias in our society today and it can be defined as believing a certain group (gender) is superior to the other and discriminating on the basis of this belief. Many people often form a set of assumptions as to what they believe a specific gender can and cannot do, which is not always necessarily fair.

To further help explain the significance of avoiding bias language the article by Dana Lynn Driscoll and Allen Brizee titled “Appropriate Language” explains, “When writing, it is very important to use language that fits your audience and matches purpose. Inappropriate language uses can damage your credibility, undermine your argument, or alienate your audience.” One of the biggest types of bias language involves gender bias often reffered to as sexsist language. The problem with sexist language is clearly explained by Steven Beebe in the book, Communication Principles for a Lifetime when he explains, “Language that reveals bias in favor of one sex and against another is termed sexist or exclusive language, is more prevalent than you’d think. Decades of effort, spurred by the women’s liberation movement in the 1960s, have raised consciousness of American culture regarding exclusive language. But many people still do not alter their language to reflect and include both sexes” (68). Bias language continues to be a problem that affects how people communication. It may create a barrier between two individuals if it is used. For this reason it is important to learn how to confront bias language to avoid such

For my written task, I will be focusing on Part 1 of the course, specifically on how language impacts hypermasculinity and the dehumanization of females. In class, we watched a documentary called The Mask You Live In for our language and gender unit. The documentary highlights toxic male behaviour and how it dehumanizes both genders.

In response to what we have discussed thus far in Interpersonal Communication, I would like to further explore the idea of gender in the interpersonal communication arena. As was said in class, ”gender influences cultural perspectives.” Gender also influences how we view ourselves in society. On the flip side, I’ve seen how society can mold the way we label ourselves in terms of gender.

Language refers to the method that humans use to communicate either through speech or written. It consists of the use of the word in a structured and conventional way. Language has been referred to as ‘our means of classifying and ordering the world; our means of manipulating reality. In structure and in its use we bring out the world into realisation and if it is inherently inaccurate, then we are misled. (Dale Spender, 1980).Language has power that allows us to make sense out of the reality we live in. Sexism is discrimination of a person based on their gender, especially on women. Sexism in language is the use of language which devalues members on one sex, almost always women, showing gender inequality. In the 1960/70’s there was a

From a very early age, males and females are taught different linguistic practices. For example, communicative behaviors that are considered acceptable for boys may be considered completely inappropriate for girls.

Null Hypothesis - Gender bias does not have a role to play in people’s mind-set towards male victims.