English Essay: Is the English language inherently sexist?

English Essay: Is the English language inherently sexist?

 

The English language is forever adapting, especially in recent times due to the development of technology. However one argument remains, is the English language inherently sexist. Studies from linguist Muriel Schutz suggest that there are varying amounts of semantic degradation between men and women. Within her studies words with reference to women have more negative connotations compared to the male equivalent. For example, the word “bachelor” since the early 13^th century, this term has referred to man who is noble, strong willed or refers to man who is never married. On the other hand, the introduction of a female equivalent wasn’t introduced until the early 20^th century. Before then, the term bachelor had connotations for women but was obscure and very rarely used, this is due to the patriarchal society of the early 13^th century which degraded women.

Muriel Schutz studied lexical shifts within words, words which had one meaning but over time have gone on to mean the opposite. An example of this is the word “Slapper.” The word was used in 1888 to describe someone who aided the making of pottery, someone who were to slap the clay onto the wheel in order for it to be used. However due to lexical shifts, the word now makes reference to a women who is sexually promiscuous. The derogatory term is regionally used within East London and Essex, which is known for occupying those of white, working class men. This suggests that derogatory terms towards women have been invented from the collective of a certain male population.

Deborah Cameron, another linguist studied the appropriation associated with how men and women speak. The social expectations for women are a lot harsher than what they are for men. Phrases such as “act more ladylike” and “man up” have very contrasting connotations. Although both of these conform to standard stereotypes, women are often told to “man up” if they are showing signs of weakness as men are seen to be strong both physically and mentally. It is unheard of for a man to be told to “woman up.” Cameron expresses the opinion that women and men speak different languages. Cameron’s book, the myth of mars, exemplifies that difference in the way we speak is not entirely environmental. Men are born with a certain way in speech whereas women are born with another. This could be an explanation towards men expressing that they cannot understand when women speak. However the English language in which men and women speak is not entirely hereditary. Environmental factors such as where you live, people you hang around with and occupation. In pre-victorian times, girls were given etiquette and speaking lessons in order to become a “lady.” This was seen as a social norm as women were expected to behave in one way and men another.

Additionally, I recently listened to a podcast from an Australian radio show expressing this topic. The host Roly Sussex argued that mansplaining is a term when a man feels the need to explain a word to a woman which they already know the meaning and understanding of. Sussex goes onto explain that there is no symmetrical term for women, the word womansplaining does not exist within the oxford dictionary with no logical explanation why. His studies suggest that there are over 580 words within the oxford dictionary that begin with the prefix ‘man’. Some people suggest that only some of those words actually start with the gender term of man, words such as ‘Manufacture’ do not count as they are derived from the Latin term ‘Manus.’ However, the unmarked term ‘manable’ which has been used within the English language since 1627 describes a woman who is suitable of appearance or age to be wed. This term could be seen as inherently sexist as there is no phrase for a man who shares the same characteristics. This shows the English language stereotypes towards women as it expresses that every woman aspires to be married. Furthermore, the term degrades women in the fact that the term states that women have to look ‘manable’ in order to become a wife.

Sweden have attempted to rectify any problems concerning gender neutral lexis by inventing a gender neutral pronoun. The term 'hen' has been created baring in mind the term 'Han' for a man and 'Hon' for a woman. This has been ground-breaking for Swedish transgender's as it has partially eliminated doubts about their acceptance into society. but would this work in the UK. Many theorists still believe that using 'man' as a collective phrase is adequate enough but in my opinion I feel we do need to find a gender neutral equivalent. This could be the start of the recognition women need to have in society. Every day women are becoming more and more influential within the world and indeed political power, for example in American politics, Hilary Clinton is a favourite to win the presidential election. Our patriarchal society is slowly becoming more even but that doesn't hide the fact the language we use is sexist.