Women's Studies 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Move, Ableism, Slut
9 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Lecture 3 constructions of gender: language intersectionality. Gender stereotyping in the english language: women are a part of man. The english language reflects and reinforces gender stereotypes. We approach mixed gender groups as hey guys , but if someone said hey gals the men would hesitate. Women are erased through this incorrect assumption: pronouns reflect different personality attributes and career aspirations for men and women. Structure of our language makes it difficult to visualize men as nurses or women as doctors: language constructs women as immature and incompetent; men as mature and competent. Refer to women as girls, but do not refer to men as boys (infantilization) Boy is very rarely a standard for men, yet girl is a standard for women: women are defined in terms of their sexual desirability to men; men in terms of their sexual prowess over women. Range of synonyms we have to describe sexually active women have a negative connation.
