Language and Gender

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  • Created by: ezpo
  • Created on: 30-04-20 12:57

Gender stereotypes

Sex = biological differences e.g. women are able to give birth.

Gender = socially accepted characteristics e.g. women get broody about having children. 

Meterosexuality = 'modern man' who goes against stereotypocal male gender.

Heteronormativity = putting heterosexual stereotypes onto same sex couples.

How and why gender stereotyping happens:

  • Historically, gender has been an organising principle for society.
  • Sex differences are associated  with physical appearances.

This is most likely enforced even more with the way children grow up - parents using gender stereotypes to push onto their children through clothing, toys and attitude. 

Gender marking = 'unusual terms' which suggest against the norm e.g. family man, male secretary, female doctor, male nurse.

Surnames

Patronyms = names that reflect male lines of inheritance - English.

Matronyms = the mother's first name plus the term for daughter (dottir) or son - Nordic or Icelandic,

British surnames originally were not used before 1066 (The Norman conquest) and instead nicknames were used. After this surnames were introduced and by 1400 most English families has a hereditary surname. 

Surnames have derived from:

  • Places - these are the oldest and most common.
  • Landscape features - rivers, streams, farms, mountains, hills or types of trees.
  • Occupations - from a person's job or trade, impacted by where they lived (fisher) and some have come from military roles, church roles or art roles.
  • Nicknames - these come from personality traits or appearance which then become hereditary, some are moral qualities whilst others are more negative (Goodman/Fox etc.)>
  • Baptismal - names given by Christian baptism which often haven't changed since unless

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