Gender & language

• Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: language is biased in favour of men
• Male-as-norm syndrome: younger generations become brainwashed into thinking that male is the more important and superior sex
• Jespersen 1920s: women speak a lot, link sentences with 'and' because they are emotional, have smaller vocab than men due to their lack of education.

  Criticism: based work largely on fiction-literature, no studies conducted
• Deficit Theory: male language is the norm and the language of others is considered to be outside of that norm and so, deficient, Lakoff
• Lakoff 1970s: women speak less frequently, quieter than men, use more intensifiers + mitigators such as 'sort of', implies women are taught to use language in a limited way + avoid taboo language such as swear words.
• Dale Spender 1980s: by men being more active in public their opinions are heard more, lang is a tool for empowerment
• William O'Barr + Bowman Atkins 1980s: language differences are situation- specific, relying on who has power + authority in a conversation, rather than gender
• Raewyn Conell: 4 types of masculinities,

  • Hegemonic- specific form of masculinity in a society that legitimates unequal gender relations
  • Complicit- living more passively in a hegemonic society
  • Subordinate- displays feminine traits as well as some masculine traits
  • Marginalised- lacking power in society, minority groups whose voices aren't considered
• Gill Plain: 3 types of twentieth century women,

  • Grand dame
  • Deadly seductress
  • The boy-girl
• Rowland: Golden Age of crime fiction took the masculine mould of Sherlock Holmes + created feminine male characters
• The Moonstone: Victorian

  • "she was unlike most other girls... she had ideas of her own"
  • "Her nose was not quite large enough, I admit."
• A Study in Scarlet: Victorian, Conan Doyle

  • "Mrs Hudson entered with the tea + coffee"
• Murder on the Orient Express: Golden Age, Agatha Christie

  • "You have a good brain. Use it Mademoiselle"
  • "A women who writes has power"
• Whose Body: Golden Age, Dorothy L Sayers

  • "The world is made for men, you know"
  • "Women are usually rather wise about their marriages"
  • "Miss Thipps was the daughter of a rich manufacturer"
• Gone Girl: Modern, Gillian Flynn

  • "The world prizes beauty in women"
  • "you'd think all women do is clean and bleed.”
• In The Woods: Modern

  • “Being a woman is serious business” = challenges faced by women in modern society, aligning with Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity, challenges faced by women in modern society, also challenges trad gender roles by acknowledging the significance of femininity 
  • “There’s something dangerous about the boredom of teenage girls”= challenges stereotypes of female passivity + docility, aligning with O’Barr + Atkins’ theory that lang is used strategically to assert power + control.
• The Dark: Modern

  • "Sonya Obeng, a Canadian Meteorologist"
  • "Tom Weber, the shy-seeming data manager"
• Person's Unknown: Modern, Susie Steiner

  • "He was never in the fucking poppy shop"
  • "I need to ask a favour"
• Strange Jest: Golden Age, Agatha Christie

  • "This is Miss Marple"
• Sign Of Four: Victorian, Conan Doyle

  • 'She was sweet and amiable"
• Redemption: Modern, David Baldacci

  • "Lancaster had worn no makeup... make herself less conspicuously female"
  • "Only one authorised to carry a gun, arrest people"