Download 1 CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This chapter presents

CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter presents the theories which are used as the basic of the data analysis by
the writer. The theories are mainly about how the feminism takes a part in literature, which
leads to sexist language, sexist language and its relation to gender, and language and sexism.
The theories will be connected to the topic of this thesis, sexist language.
2.1
Feminism
What is feminism? By Oxford dictionary, feminism is “a belief in the principle that
women should have the same right as men”, and feminist is “the person who believes in
feminism”. However, feminism has more definition aside from the dictionary meaning. The
feminist author, Hooks (2000, p. 28), defined sexism as the struggle to end sexist oppression,
no matter what race or class of the women is. Meanwhile, Offen stated that feminism is
opposition to action that subordinate women to men in the family and society, where men are
likely to define what is best for women without consulting them, and is necessarily prowoman. It also seeks to destroy masculinist hierarchy but not sexual dualism. (Offen, 1998,
p. 150)
How is feminism related to sexist language? According to Barry (2009. p. 116), ever
since the ‘women’s movement’ of the 1960s happened (The Second Wave Feminism),
feminism takes a role of producing the feminist criticism. It influences women’s attitude and
everyday conduct. The feminist has begun debating about the sexist language. Later on,
feminism leads to the existence of sexism as it can be seen in Mills (2008).
“We can see current sexism as, in some measure, a response to feminism. For many males
(and females as well), feminism is seen as disrupting the status quo and overturning the
conventional views of how women and men should behave...” (Mills, 2008, p. 41)
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Holmes (2008, p. 318) also stated that the feminist have claimed English as a sexist
language. Since language is an instrument for human to make a connection in society, it
becomes a concern in literature of the feminist criticism whether the language is sexist or not.
Linda Sofia (2008), in her thesis stated that women are discriminated through several words,
different language terms, which next influence the representation of women in media. They
are not treated equally to men in term of language use. Language can also create a social
image of certain thing, so it is possible for the language to create a negative imagery for both
women and men. In addition, the representation of women in literature, then, was felt to be
one of the most important form of ‘socialisation’, since it provided the role models which
indicated to women, and men, what constituted acceptable versions of the ‘feminine’ and
legitimate feminine goals and aspirations. (Barry, 117) In here, Barry also implied that in
society, the used of the language represents of which gender it refers to, feminine or
masculine, and it leads to discriminatory between men and women. As Cameron and Kulick
(2003), in Mills (2008,p.6), stated that the sexist statements made about women which have
been objected to by feminist since 1980 causing a wider discriminatory practices in the
workplace and within relationship with men.
2.2
Gender
Gender has two meanings in Oxford dictionary, a fact of being male or female, and
grouping of nouns and pronouns into masculine, feminine, and neuter. Language’s relation to
gender was at the centre of discussions from the beginning of feminism’s second wave. 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
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and women as they appear (or in the case of women don't appear) in stories, pictures,
textbooks, scholarly articles, 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. (Piercey, 2000, p. 5) Gender is embedded so thoroughly in our
institutions, our actions, our beliefs, and our desires, that it appears to us to be completely
natural. (Eckert & McConnel-Ginet, 2003, p. 9)
In sexism, gender is an issue that always being brought of, since it is a place where in
interaction or texts gender is drawn attention to, and where it makes difference for
participants. Mills (2008, p.25)
According to (Krolokke, 2005), the starting point of feminist criticism is what
considered as the first wave. First-wave feminism arose in the context of industrial society
and liberal politics but is connected to both the liberal women’s rights movement and early
socialist feminism in the late 19th and early 20th century in the United States and Europe.
Concerned with access and equal opportunities for women, the first wave continued to
influence feminism in both Western and Eastern societies throughout the 20th century.
Furthermore, some first-wave feminists pursued the argument of women’s innate moral
superiority, thus embracing what might be called difference first-wave feminism. This
concept is often called equal-opportunities feminism or equity feminism, and it is
characterized by the lack of distinction between sex and gender.
However, according to Mills (2008), there are differences of points of view about
gender in sexism between the feminist. The first point a view, she states, is from the second
wave feminist. They claimed that gender pre-existed the interaction and affected the way the
interaction developed, and gender was seen as something which pre-existed texts and was
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drawn on by the writer and reader in their interpretation of the text. On the contrary, third
wave feminist concentrate on how the participants in conversation talk about their gender
identity. They also focus on the way the words are made to mean in specific ways and
function to achieve certain purposes in particular contexts. (Christie, 2001) Furthermore,
while second wave feminist focuses on the use of generic pronoun ‘he’ to refer to both men
and women, or derogatory terms used to describe women such as ‘bitch’ or ‘slag’, and think
of the words as sexist by nature, the third wave feminist focuses on the reason of why the
word is an offensive term to women to the reader or the hearer.
In addition, feminism today is called modern-day feminism, in which the feminist who
believes in quality is active, which also has multiple facets – from populism and pop culture
to new-media and new activism – but it would seem the common denominator is inclusivity.
No longer the preserve of extreme activists and intellectual theorists, feminism is shedding its
stigma and is going mainstream (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/11/modernfeminism-definition_n_3582876.html).
Approaching gender identity as a construction, rather than as a fixed category, is also
useful in accounting for examples where women adapt to masculine contexts, and men adapt
to feminine contexts by using features which indirectly index or are associated with
masculinity and femininity. (Holmes, 315) As it has been showed in background of study, the
conversation between the character of the movie Queer as Folk Brian and Emmet consists of
sexism in gender reference.
“Brian: Good evening, twats.
Emmet: Would you kindly refrain from using derogatory references to women, since they
represent half of my fan base.” (Queer as Folk, 5)
In this conversation, both Brian and Emmet are gay, but since Brian takes a role as the
masculine one, he can call Emmet, the feminine one, a twat, which is a vulgar slang of
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women’s genital. This fact showed that the issue of sexist language in gender construction
not only happens in between men and women, but also in the same sex relationship. Rather
than focusing on the fact that they are both men, it is focusing on who is feminine and who is
masculine to be seen as the gender-related language level of communication.
“Gender-related language refrom is a reaction to changes in the relationships between
women and men, which have caused overt conflicts on the level of language comprehension
and production. Reformed usage symbolises the dissonance between traditional precriptions
such as the use of masculine/male generics and innovative alternatives...” (Hellinger and
Bussman (2001)
Discussing about gender in the English language, the masculine and feminine
definition in the vocabulary must be looked at. Gender is determined by meaning, not form;
therefore, in seemingly neutral terms a sex is assigned. Cameron (1992), in (Piercey, 2000)
suggests that lithe attribution of gender is relational: it depends on the contrast between two
terms.(83) Therefore, we need to consider gender connotations 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).
2.2.1 Masculinities and femininities
Masculinity as a noun means a quality of being masculine, while femininty has a
meaning of a quality of being feminine, according to Oxford dictionary. However, based on
(Eckert & McConnel-Ginet, 2003, p. 47), male and female, masculinity and femininity, are
not equally dimorphic everywhere, nor are they experienced or defined in the same ways
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everywhere. In his book Masculinities, Robert Connell (1995) counters the notion of true
masculinity, emphasizing that masculinity (like femininity) is not a coherent object, but part
of a larger structure. Taking this structure as starting point, Connell locates, and elaborates
on, two kinds of masculinities: the physical masculinity of the working class, and the uppermiddle-class technical masculinity. Connell points out that working-class masculinity is
associated with physical power, while upper-middle-class masculinity is associated with
technical (scientific and political) power.
2.3
Sexist Language
According to Lei (2006), sexist language is language that expresses bias in favour of
one sex and thus treats the other sex in a discriminatory manner. In most cases, the bias is in
favour of men and against women. She also stated that sexist language exists due to sexism
in society. As a social phenomenon, language is closely related to social attitudes. In the past,
women are supposed to stay at home, remaining powerless and generally subordinate to man,
whereas men are considered as the centre both in the family and society. In a word, for a long
time women have been looked on as the weaker sex in society. Even in English-speaking
countries, which hold the claim that “every one is created equal”, discrimination against
women exists. Language simply reflects this social fact. Another theory of sexist language is
that sexist language "cannot be regarded simply as the 'naming' of the world from one,
masculinist perspective; it is better conceptualized as a multifaceted phenomenon occurring
in a number of quite complex systems of representation, all with their places in historical
traditions II (Cameron, 1990, p. 14).
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Sexism in language can be seen in any type of literature works such as advertisement,
songs, poem, and movies. Social media, such as songs, magazines and televisions also
contain sexism in which it stereotypes the sex and gender role between men and women.
Strinati (2005) said that men and women have been represented by the mass media in
conformity with the cultural stereotypes which create traditional sex roles, where the men
would be usually shown as the dominant, authoritative, and aggressive whilst the women
would be shown as the submissive, subordinate, and passive. Baehr (1981), in Strinati (2005,
p.171), commented that the feminist movement has responded critically, often angrily, to
“sexism in the media”.
This sexism in the media is one of the practical examples of the use of sexist language.
Yet, in practice, it is not only feminist women who can be the victim of sexism. The term
Cultural Feminism means a great variety of female artists, musicians, teachers, activists, etc,
and attempts to recover lost or marginalized women's works and traditions and create a
culture that nurtures and supports women's experiences and values.
Music, literature and other arts form a large part of this endeavour. Argues that existing
institutions
and
the
values
they
represent
are
male-dominated
(http://www2.ivcc.edu/radek/Gender_2000/Feminist_Theories_files/frame.htm). It can be
seen that this term implied the meaning that women also can attack men in order to show that
in literature, music, or any kind of the said professions above, female can also be dominant.
According to Holmes (2008), sexism involves behaviour which maintains social
inequalities between women and men. Language conveys attitudes. Sexist attitudes
stereotype a person according to gender rather than judging on individual merits. Sexist
language encodes stereotyped attitudes to women and men. Before, it has been told that
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feminist claimed English is sexist. As Cameron (1999) said, the language represent or ‘name’
the world from a masculine point of view and in accordance with stereotyped beliefs about
women, men and the relationship between them. In order to go further, we need to know the
meaning of sexist language. In Oxford dictionary, sexism is defined as an unfair treatment of
people (especially women) because of their sex. The fact that this definition emphasizes the
‘especially women’ as ‘people’ is stressing the theory that said that sexism is the impact of
feminism. According to many feminist, sexism is the practices whereby someone
foregrounds gender when it is not salient feature, and a language which discriminated against
women by representing them negatively. (Vetterling-Braggin, 1981). Animal imagery is one
example where the images of women seem considerably less positive than those for men.
(Holmes, 318)
Another definition is spoken in the simplistic way as many feminist did in the 1980s
and 1990s (Miller and Swift, 1982/1989) in (Mills, 2008).
“...the relation between the sexes which is necessarily antagonistic, as in women pitted
against all men in the ‘battle of the sexes’. Women were presented as the victims of male
aggression, fear and hatred. It was seen to be determinate by patriarchy – a social system
which privileged men at the expense of women...” (Mills, 2008, p.21)
Later on, Mills (2008) said that sexism is better understood as a set of discursive
practices and stereotypical knowledge which changes over time and which can be
challenged, rather than as the reflection of a fixed and unchanging patriarchy. Meanwhile,
Madjid, (2007) concluded that an expression of the languages that exclude, insult, or
trivialize women or men is called sexist language. From these definitions, it can be said that
sexist language is a language in which it treats people unfairly because of the sex, stereotypes
attitudes to women and men, and foregrounds gender when it is not salient feature. It is also
an antagonistic relation between sexes and the practice of sexist language can also happen
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towards men, since the feminists are trying to make a balance between women and men
within the society, in the name of their common humanity with respect for their differences.
“Feminism makes claims for a rebalancing between women and men of the social,
economic, and political power within a given society, on behalf of both sexes in the name of
their common humanity, but with respect for their differences.” (Offen, 1998, p. 151)
There are two types of sexist language that will be explained in this chapter according
to Sarah Mills (2008), overt (direct) sexist language, and covert (indirect) sexist language.
2.3.1 Overt Sexist Language
Overt or direct sexism is the type of usage which can be identified through the use of
linguistic markers, or through the analysis of presupposition, which has historically been
associated with the expression of discriminatory opinions about women, which signals to
hearers that women are seen as an inferior group in relation to males. Language can be
claimed as overt sexist if in the use of the language, sexism is used intentionally to affects
conversation, somebody’s views of other people and somebody’s own place within society.
(Mills, 2008)
The categories of overt sexist language that will be shown in this section are words and
meaning which includes naming, dictionaries, pronouns, and insult terms for women, based
on Mills (2008).
2.3.1.1 Naming
Based on Spender (1980:84) in Mills (2008), names are essential because it is difficult
to accept the existence of an object, an event and a feeling, without a name. It is said that the
focus on naming and nouns is not inevitable, and that it is dealt separately in between the
existence of words to define something and the development of names for new elements. The
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development of terms for new elements and the existence of names for particular experiences
are very different processes. Mills explained that the processes are the states where there are
many views of the naming in the use of language. Firstly, Spender said that sexist language
was a result of and reflection of a patriarchal social system, in which though it became clear
that men do not necessarily control the language, the language seems to give value and belief
on men more than those of woman. The second theory is from Black and Coward (1981) that
said the language system is fixed and encoded solely in men’s interests. However, Mills
argued that it is still unclear that language is a system even though it is kept changing and
consisted of stereotypical beliefs about women.
Moreover, other theorist claimed that if the social position of women is being changed,
then words would reflect that change in some ways. As Cameron (1990:40) stated that rather
than seeing language as a reflection of society, it could be seen as a carrier ideas and
assumptions which become so conventional that it is hard to see their meanings. It can be
said that some sexist terms may be looked so as a really a part of language that do not get
noticed as sexist.
Furthermore, Mills said that there are lexical items which are clearly sexist and have
negative connotation to women such as ‘feisty’ and ‘shrill’. ‘Shrill’ generally means that
women’s voices are unpleasantly high or loud, assuming the female norm of quietness and a
male norm of low pitch. ‘Feisty’ is used to refer to women who are strong and independent,
but it is generally used to refer to someone who is seen as exceptionally assertive, thus
suggesting that women should not act this way. On the contrary, with a male norm, when
males are independent and strong, they would not be called ‘feisty’, and when they have high
normal voices, they would not be thought as ‘shrill’. (Mills, 2008, p. 45)
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2.3.1.2 Dictionaries
According to Kramarae and Treichler (1985:119), dictionary is a book of words
which collect somebody’s words into somebody’s book. Whose words and how they are
collected and who collects them all influence what kind of book a given dictionary turns out
to be and in turn whose purpose it can be served. (Mills, 2008, p. 45)
This can be understood that the meaning of the words in dictionary is depending on
who made it, how the person wants them to be meant, and how the reader responded to the
words. If the dictionary was made by feminist, then the content will be more gender-equal.
“In the 2000s we are used to more gender-equal examples in dictionaries, but it is because
of the work of feminist work of feminist lexicographers that entries in dictionaries have
changed.” (Mills, 2008, p. 46)
Thus, the point including dictionaries is that the meaning of the words which are
spoken depends on who the speaker is and whom the words are addressed to.
2.3.1.3 Generic pronouns and nouns
As it has been stated in background of this thesis study about sexist language, not only
is the word itself gender biased, it is also followed by the pronoun agreement in grammar,
which is very important in making a proper sentence. The English words such as ‘man’
‘manhood’ and ‘mankind’ are using the male biased as the choice of word. That is something
people can’t change, but the impact of that is the other words like ‘student’ and ‘friend’ that
indicate the terms of people, both female and male, are often followed by the pronoun
agreement as ‘his’. Spender (1980), in Mills (2008, p.47), gives example like this, ‘when the
student has finished his exam he should hand in his paper to the invigilator’. This may be
confusing, since it is unclear whether it refers only to males or the entire students in general.
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The personal pronouns and nouns, according to Hellinger and Bussman (2001: 2-3), are
needed to communicate about the self and others, used to identify people as individuals or as
members of various groups, and may give positive or negative attitudes. They also said that
personal pronouns and nouns have an appropriate use and inappropriate use on a
psychological level.
“...On a psychological level, an appropriate use of personal nouns may contribute towards
the maintenance of an individual’s identity, while inappropriate use, for example,
identifying someone repeatedly (either by mistake or by intention) by a false name, by using
derogatory or discriminatory language, or by not addressing someone at all, may cause
irritation, anger or feelings of inferiority.” (Mills, 2008, p.47)
2.3.1.4 Insult terms for women
Many feminist theorists, according to Mills (2008), have claimed that the insult terms
used for women are sexualised. US and British rappers such as So Solid Crew, Jay z, Snoop
Dogg and Eminem have been attacked by journalists and politicians for their use of language
which is seen to objectify women and glorify violence towards and abuse of women. The
words such as ‘bitch’, ‘pimp’, and ’ho (whore)’, are often seen in their lyrics.
Hip-hop is a ‘masculinist’ or ‘hypermasculine’ genre of music where the protagonists
bolster their own sense of authenticity and ‘realness’, said Stephens (2005: 23) in Mills
(2008, p. 53). Furthermore, it is said that ‘realness’ is derived from public perceptions that
the stories told by the rappers are in fact narratives about the real lives of the singers. In
addition, rap music, as many critics claim, causes sexist beliefs, but the connection between
rap and sexism is unlikely to be a direct cause-and-effect. (Austin, 2008) According to Cobb
and Boettcher, in (Austin, 2008) the effect of rap lyrics is like hearing the word ‘chocolate’
and suddenly having a craving for a candy bar.
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The study by (Austin, 2008) titled “Ambivalent Sexism and Misogynistic Rap Music:
Does Exposure to Eminem Increase Sexism?” found that college students who were asked to
listen to rap music had significantly higher levels of reported sexism. In the study, males who
listened to any rap music were more sexist than those in the control group even though
sometimes the rap lyrics did not include sexist language. Females in the study also reported
higher levels of sexism when rap music was not sexist in its language, but their endorsement
of sexist beliefs was the lowest after listening to rap with overtly sexist language. (Austin,
2008)
However, there is a contrast to be made between the misogynistic lyrics of the rappers
with their real-life expressions of affection and respect for family members or women
business partners. Eminem is well known for being violent and abusive towards women,
especially his mother and wife (now ex-wife) in his songs such as, Cleaning out My Closet,
Kill You, and Superman. Yet, he is being a lovely father to his only biological daughter,
Haillie, and even to Laine, his ex wife’s twin’s daughter whom he adopted, in his song
Mockingbird.
It can be told that the insult terms used in the context of rap can be seen to have many
meanings and they are indeed sexist and homophobic, but they are not reducible to those
meanings alone. The user of these insult terms intend them to be interpreted quite differently
from what media often interpreted Mills (2008). Thus, the insult terms to women which are
considered as sexist language seen in those lyrics do not mean that the singers are sexist
people.
2.3.2 Covert Sexist language
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Covert or indirect sexism is that sexism which is masked by humour and irony and is
consequently quite difficult to classify as sexism. (34) The difference between overt and
covert sexism is the way it is used, and it does not change the sexism itself, but it changes the
way it can be responded to. (Mills, 2008, p.134)
The categories of covert sexist language that will be showed in this section are humour,
presupposition, and scripts and metaphor.
2.3.2.1 Humour
According to Mills (2008), humour often exaggerates certain features associated with a
group or draws on and plays with stereotypical knowledge for comic effect. The following
below is the example of indirect sexism in humour that Mills get by email in her work
environment.
Table 2.1 Humour
Women’s language translated
Yes = No
No = Yes
Maybe = No
I’m sorry = You’ll be sorry
We need = I want
It’s your decision = The correct
decision should be obvious by now
Do what you want = You’ll pay for
this later
We need to talk = I need to complain
Sure, go ahead = I don’t want you to
I’m not upset = Of course I’m upset
you moron
You’re so manly = You need a shave
and you sweat a lot
You’re certainly attentive tonight = Is
sex all you ever think about?
Be romantic, turn out the lights = I
have flabby thighs
This kitchen is so inconvenient = I
want a new house
I heard a noise = I noticed you were
almost asleep
Do you love me? = I’m going to ask
Men’s language translated
I’m hungry = I’m hungry
I’m sleepy = I’m sleepy
I’m tired = I’m tired
Do you want to go to a movie? = I’d
eventually like to have sex with
you
Can I call you some time? = I’d
eventually like to have sex with you
May I have this dance? = I’d
eventually like to have sex with you
Nice dress = Nice cleavage
What’s wrong? = I don’t see why
you’re making such a big deal out
of this
What’s wrong? = What meaningless
self-inflicted psychological
trauma are you going through now?
I’m bored = Do you want to have
sex?
I love you = Let’s have sex now
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for something expensive
How much do you love me? = I’ve
done something today you’re not going to
like
Source: Language and Sexism
The humour above is indirectly sexist because it has masculine perspective. Women
are represented as saying exactly the opposite of what they mean; they are portrayed as
manipulative, ambitious, self-centred, selfish, materialistic, and as resisting sex and
undergoing ‘meaningless self-inflicted psychological trauma’. Men, on the other hand, are
represented in a more positive light as direct, plain-speaking and obsessed with sex. (p.143)
2.3.2.2 Presupposition
The reason why presupposition is the fact that it is often chosen to cover the sexism
and to give the speaker the chance to deny any intended sexism. For example, in the phrase
‘So, have you women finished gossiping?’, according to Mills (2008), there are
presupposition about women and talk which would need to be unpacked before the phrase
could be responded to (for example, that women’s talk is trivial, that women engage in
gossiping more than men, that two women talking together can be assumed to be gossiping,
and so on). The question as it stands demands a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer and this is obviously
problematic for those who would wish to take issue with the presuppositions. (p.146)
2.3.2.3 Scripts and metaphor
The script and metaphor that consist of indirect sexism can be found in story within
society. In many children's stories that are used to teach values, boys and girls receive two
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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 public 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. The popular fairytale Sleeping
Beauty is the example. 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. (Cohoon, 2009, p. 114) This is indirect sexism in the script
where the man is the dominant and the woman is the passive.
Based on the theories above, the writer will conduct a thesis about how sexist language
is used in five songs of Eminem and five songs of Beyonce, how it differentiates gender of
women and men, and the relations of them all with feminism theory. This will be supported
by the data compilation which is taken in order to prove the theories and to answer problem
formulation.