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Sexism in the English Language, Essays (university) of English Language

Language can be sexiest too and have the ability to empower a gender over the other.

Typology: Essays (university)

2020/2021

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Perspectives
Sexism in the English Language
Margaret
Piercey
Sexism
and
the
ESL
Teacher:
Restarting
the
Discussion
In
our
patriarchal society there is still evidence of inherent sexism
in
every
aspect of life. This perspective essay concentrates
on
the sexism
that
is
inherent
in
the English language.
Although
this ongoing debate
may
be
considered
by
some
as
outdated,
Idisagree.
In
writing
this essay I
attempt
to
bring
to the forefront
an
important
issue
and,
Ihope, to restart discussions. I
do
not
assume
the
authority
of
summing
up
the whole debate,
but
rather
would
like
to
reintroduce
ESL
teachers to the subject
and
to sensitize
them
to
covert
assumptions
and
overt
practices
that
seem to
sustain
sexism.
As teachers
and
professionals
we
have
the responsibility to continue
learning
and
growing, to search for, develop,
and
offer
our
students
our
best
teaching practices. We
need
to assess
not
only
our
students,
but
ourselves as
well.
Through
observations of,
and
reflections on,
our
own
teaching proce-
dures,
we
may
want
to redefine
our
goals
and
practices to include nonsexist
material, language,
and
literature.
Numerous
publications
that
deal
with
sexism
and
nonsexist teaching are available from
departments
of education
and
teachers' associations.
To
draw
aconnection
between
the
work
we
do
as
ESL
teachers
and
the
problems
women
face
in
our
society
today
can
be
a
daunting
task. Question-
ing
some
of
our
views
and
values requires strength. However, it is
an
important
aspect of
our
work
as
ESL
teachers
if
we
wish
to give all
our
students
the necessary tools to be whole, competent,
and
dynamic members
of society.
In
her
book
Feminism
and
Linguistic
Theory
Cameron
(1992) points
out
that
there is
a
good
deal
of feminist
work
emphasizing
the importance of cultural
representation of
gender-men
and
women
as they
appear
(or
in
the
case of
women
don't
appear)
in
stories, pictures, textbooks, scholarly ar-
ticles,
and
so
on-in
forming the identities of real
women
and
men,
their notions of masculinity
and
femininity, their expectations of
what
is
possible
and
their ideas of
what
is normal. (p.
5)
Istructure this essay
around
three themes: English as a
part
of culture, the
discrimination
in
English,
and
the marginalization of
women
in
literature.
All of this
has
a
profound
effect
on
women
in
society
and
girls
in
schools.
It
is
important
for
ESL
teachers to
be
conscious of sexism
in
English (as this is
110
MARGARET
PIERCEY
pf3
pf4
pf5

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Perspectives

Sexism in the English Language

Margaret Piercey

Sexism and the ESL Teacher: Restarting the Discussion

In our patriarchal society there is still evidence of inherent sexism in every aspect of life. This perspective essay concentrates on the sexism that is inherent in the English language. Although this ongoing debate may be considered by some as outdated, I disagree. In writing this essay I attempt to bring to the forefront an important issue and, I hope, to restart discussions. I do not assume the authority of summing up the whole debate, but rather would like to reintroduce ESL teachers to the subject and to sensitize them to covert assumptions and overt practices that seem to sustain sexism. As teachers and professionals we have the responsibility to continue learning and growing, to search for, develop, and offer our students our best teaching practices. We need to assess not only our students, but ourselves as well. Through observations of, and reflections on, our own teaching proce- dures, we may want to redefine our goals and practices to include nonsexist material, language, and literature. Numerous publications that deal with sexism and nonsexist teaching are available from departments of education and teachers' associations. To draw a connection between the work we do as ESL teachers and the problems women face in our society today can be a daunting task. Question- ing some of our views and values requires strength. However, it is an important aspect of our work as ESL teachers if we wish to give all our students the necessary tools to be whole, competent, and dynamic members

of society. In her book Feminism and Linguistic Theory Cameron (1992) points

out that there is a good deal of feminist work emphasizing the importance of cultural representation of gender-men and women as they appear (or in the case of women don't appear) in stories, pictures, textbooks, scholarly ar- ticles, and so on-in forming the identities of real women and men, their notions of masculinity and femininity, their expectations of what is possible and their ideas of what is normal. (p. 5) I structure this essay around three themes: English as a part of culture, the discrimination in English, and the marginalization of women in literature. All of this has a profound effect on women in society and girls in schools. It is important for ESL teachers to be conscious of sexism in English (as this is

110 MARGARET PIERCEY

the language we teach), to stop contributing to it, and in tum to use and support nonsexist language.

English as a Dominant Language: A Man-Made Language

In his book Linguistic Imperialism Phillipson (1992) suggests that the acquisi-

tion of English as a second language has been correlated, and is related, to "nationalism, nationism, development, modernity, efficiency, western civilization, and many other culturally-loaded values, all of which are fea- tures of contemporary capitalism" (p. 85). This creates the inevitability that individuals who learn English as a second language will also learn the cultural and sociological ideologies inherent in this language. According to Phillipson, teaching English has three functions: First, part of the widespread legitimation for English is to qualify people

to build up the nation .... It therefore has an economic-reproductive func-

tion.... Secondly, English is also supposed to bring 'modem' ideas with it, to be a channel for interpersonal, social, and cultural values. It there-

fore has an ideological function.... Thirdly, English has a repressive func-

tion, in that there is no choice other than to use the language in English classes. (pp. 68-69) As ESL teachers it is up to us to be aware of all these functions. Our students are not only learning a language as a tool to communicate with others, but they are also learning the cultural values that are embodied in the language.

In Man Made Language Spender (1980) concludes that "women could learn

to speak exactly like men and yet still be evaluated as less successful-even

hesitant and tentative-precisely because it is not only the language which determines the evaluation, but the sex" (p. 79). Because women's speech is not considered assertive, it is often assumed that they are lacking something. However, we must be aware that this does not mean that women do not speak well, it just means that they do not speak like men. ESL teachers need to be sensitive to this when we evaluate students' learning and progress. Spender (1980) goes even further to suggest that language actually con- structs our reality. We constant use symbols to make sense of the world in which we live, and language is a set of symbols, with inherent limitations, that we use to determine our reality. In this context it is nothing short of ludicrous to conceive of human beings as capable of grasping things as they really are, of being impar- tial recorders of the world. For they themselves, or some of them, at least, have created or constructed that world as they have reflected themselves within it. (p. 139)

She concludes that this is a language trap in which we are caught. We do not

want to organize our world any other way; moreover, "it has been the

TESL CANADA JOURNAUREVUE TESL DU CANADA VOL. 17, NO.2, SPRING 2000

111

bias that always favors males. In English semantics, or in the meanings available in English, males not only have more words but they have more positive words. There is lithe existence of a semantic rule which determines

that any symbol which is associated with the female must assume negative

(and frequently sexual-which is also significant) connotations II (Spender,

1980, p. 19). Simone de Beauvoir argued in her book The Second Sex that "all

the negative characteristics of humanity as men perceive them are projected onto women" (Cameron, 1992, p. 84). When talking about gender in the English language, one must look at the masculine-feminine dichotomy that arises in the vocabulary. Gender is determined by meaning, not form; therefore, in seemingly neutral terms a

sex is assigned. Consider gender in the following adjectives: aggressive, ar-

rogant, charming, confident, dependant, emotional, flirtatious, gentle, logical, nag-

ging, rational, stable, submissive, talkative, and tough. Cameron (1992) suggests

that lithe attribution of gender is relational: it depends on the contrast be-

tween two terms II (p. 83). Therefore, we need to consider gender connota- tions if we choose to include opposites in our lesson planning such as tough-weak and active-passive, because a lesser value is placed on the feminine as it is opposed to the masculine. Names such as Sir-Madam and bachelor-spinster that do denote male and female in their definitions are clear examples of the feminine taking negative or inferior connotations. "Gender seems to be a conceptual component in many unrelated lexical items; and that oppositions often function covertly as hierarchies, which means it may not be a neutral fact that this system represents women as the negative of men" (p. 87). Sexist language "cannot be regarded simply as the 'naming' of the world from one, masculinist perspective; it is better conceptualized as a multi- faceted phenomenon occurring in a number of quite complex systems of representation, all with their places in historical traditions II (Cameron, 1990,

p. 14). Because the English language is man-made, it reflects the cultural

values of men, what they find important (and what they do not), and these values are then handed down to each new generation. Through the use of sexist language women are effectively eliminated and

excluded from the day-to-day reality that they exist. Words such as he and

man are supposedly employed to include women. However, they are clear

examples of a sexist linguistic structure because what they are effectively doing is excluding women, as women could never experience nor identify

with he. Margrit Eichler, in Women and Men: Interdisciplinary Readings on

Gender (Nemiroff, 1987), concludes that lithe use of male terms for generic

purposes constitutes a sexist practice that has two major flaws: for one, the male terms are not experienced as truly generic. For the other, to use terms that have two quite different meanings is highly confused and confusing" (p. 28).

TESL CANADA JOURNAUREVUE TESL DU CANADA VOL. 17, NO.2, SPRING 2000

113

Male grammarians have handed down "Rule Number 21," which is the

use of he and man as generic as a means of arguing for the superiority of

males in the structure of the language because "the male gender was more

comprehensive than the female" (Spender, 1980, p. 148). This opinion, which is

based on no sound facts, has been used "to formulate a grammatical rule which would put the users of the language in the 'wrong' if they did not

adhere to this belief" (p. 148). However, to use the alternative they in the

singular as, for example, in the phrase "Anyone can play if they learn" has been determined to be quite common even though it is considered grammati- cally incorrect. As ESL teachers we need to be open to alternatives, to use them in our own teaching practices, and to relax rigid adherence to this rule in the name of grammatical correctness.

Women's Marginalization in Literature: Sex Objects and Beauties In literature, which is the written form of language, women are marginalized and relegated to positions to satisfy male fantasies. Women's real experi- ences are hidden and obscured behind a language that insists on their pas- sivity and silence. In many children's stories that are used to teach values, boys and girls receive two different messages. Boys, who will become men, learn that they are the doers, "that a great man risks all for intellectual daring, for progress and for the publlc good" (Wolf, 1991, p. 61), whereas young girls, who will

become women, learn that they have things done to them and for them and

that their importance lies in how they look. Take, for example, the popular

fairytale Sleeping Beauty. The beautiful princess is asleep, and the only thing

that will wake her up is a kiss from the handsome prince. So she lies there waiting for him, looking beautiful, and is eventually saved by him. As a yOlL.lg girl grows up she realizes that not only must she look beauti- ful, but she must be sexy and desirable as well. And if she reads anything like

Henry Miller's Sexus, she will learn that sexual intercourse is not about love,

but about domination and the fulfillment of men's wants and needs, not her

own. Kate Millett explores this concept in her book Sexual Politics (Abrams,

1988). She analyzes selected passages from D.H. Lawrence, Henry Miller, and Norman Mailer "revealing the ways in which the authors, in fictional fantasy, exploit sexuality in order to aggrandize their aggressive phallic selves or to master and degrade women as submissive sexual objects" (p. 208).

Women's Herstory: ESL Students Need the Whole Story Adrienne Rich has said that women's "enforced ignorance has been a crucial key to their powerlessness" (Backhouse & Flaherty, 1992, p. 149). Women are ignorant of their past because their past stories have never had any impor- tance for men. In the education system women learn men's history: they read

(^114) MARGARET PIERCEY