Author Question: Discuss how language affects the understanding of gender in U.S. society. What will be an ideal ... (Read 54 times)

Redwolflake15

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 569
Discuss how language affects the understanding of gender in U.S. society.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Discuss the research done in the 1970s regarding gender roles in children's literature. What were the findings? How do they compare to today?
 
  What will be an ideal response?



guyanai

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 349
Answer to Question 1

Feedback: Language perpetuates male dominance by ignoring, trivializing, and sexualizing women. Use of the pronoun he when the sex of the person is unspecified and the generic term mankind to refer to humanity in general demonstrate how the English language ignores women. Common sayings such as that's women's work, jokes about female drivers, and phrases such as wine, women, and song are trivializing. Women, more than men, are commonly referred to in terms that have sexual connotations. Terms used for men that have sexual meanings imply power and success, whereas terms used for women imply promiscuity or being dominated. Research shows that there are many derogatory or disrespectful generic terms for women, but few for men, and of those that exist, such terms are considered derogatory because they invoke the images of women. Some of the more common derogatory terms applied to men actually degrade women in their role as mothers.

Answer to Question 2

Feedback: Weitzman et al. (1972) conducted a classic sociological study of 18 award-winning children's books that found: (a) females were virtually invisible: the ratio of male to female pictures was 11:1, and male to female animals 95:1; (b) boys were shown in outdoor activities while girls were mostly found indoors, and girls' activities were mostly in service to boys; (c) among adults portrayed, men led, women followed, and no women had jobs; all were mothers/wives. Research in the 2000s found that women and girls are still underrepresented in book titles and as central charcaters, and that the stereotype of mother as homemaker/caregiver and father as breadwinner/provider is still prevalent.



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
 

Did you know?

The modern decimal position system was the invention of the Hindus (around 800 AD), involving the placing of numerals to indicate their value (units, tens, hundreds, and so on).

Did you know?

Inotropic therapy does not have a role in the treatment of most heart failure patients. These drugs can make patients feel and function better but usually do not lengthen the predicted length of their lives.

Did you know?

The average person is easily confused by the terms pharmaceutics and pharmacology, thinking they are one and the same. Whereas pharmaceutics is the science of preparing and dispensing drugs (otherwise known as the science of pharmacy), pharmacology is the study of medications.

Did you know?

Interferon was scarce and expensive until 1980, when the interferon gene was inserted into bacteria using recombinant DNA technology, allowing for mass cultivation and purification from bacterial cultures.

Did you know?

The average human gut is home to perhaps 500 to 1,000 different species of bacteria.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library