Throughout the history of the United States, men have been the dominant sex. Men have not only been the documenters of the English language, but also the creators. "Men, especially those with class and race privilege, remain the chief gatekeepers of language: the editors, publishers, rhetoricians, dictionary-makers, broadcasters, high-status educators" (Henley 1983). Since language is a reflection of the values of a society it would be too simple to blame men for simply documenting the language, "To speak of men as the sole inventors and validators of words and meanings is at least an over-simplification. Language, in various ways, reflects the interests of more powerful social groups, and men can be seen to have more power relative to women in our society" (Graddol 1991). Due in large part to the feminist movement, women have gained more equality in all aspects of society. "The action and articulations of the women's movement, and women's lived experiences, have raised questions not only about the sexual differentiation of language and speech but also about ways language aids the construction of a male supremacist society" (Henley 1983).
There have been numerous studies done on the sexism of the English language. These studies focus primarily on the generic "he", the male as the base of many words, positive connotations of males, negative connotation of women, and the invisibility of women in literature through-out history (Graddol 1991, Henley 1983). There are those that would argue that the English language has "... contributed to the lower self-esteem and achievement levels of females throughout our society (Caldie 1981). Defenders of the language assert,"...that the language merely reflects a culture, and that concerns over sexism should be directed toward popular attitudes and beliefs, and not toward linguistic characteristics of communications (Caldie 1981). No matter what the reason, there certainly exist many inequalities in the English language.
All of these studies have created an awareness and a push to use the singular "they" or "he/she" in place of the generic "he" pronoun. The intention of this study is to trace the history of women and their portrayal in language, furnish examples of inequalities buried within the language, and study a population of college students to see if they are aware of the inequalities and the use of the singular "they" or" he/she" to try to make language more neutral and thus more fair to women by breaking down popular stereotypes.
History has clearly shown the inequalities between men and women, and the English language is not exempt. There are numerous examples of these inequalities, both historically and in the use of the language itself. "The grammars of the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries give evidence that indicates that most of the names in English are used for exclusive masculine reference. Although in the mid-nineteenth century some grammarians did include "she" and "they" along with "he" as general pronouns when a sex distinction was not required or desired..." ( Kramarae 1981).
"Males are clearly more visible than females in language content and use. For example, computer analysis of 100,000 words from children's schoolbooks found male pronouns to outnumber female ones by almost four to one. This ratio was not primarily due to the use of masculine words in generic context; 97 percent of the uses of "he" referred to male humans or animals, or to persons presumed male (sailor, farmer); and men were referred to specifically seven times as often as women. Despite the infrequent use of the masculine "generic" has a high occurrence in our lives compared with many other sources of influence. Donald MacKay (1980) has estimated that in the course of a lifetime a highly educated American is exposed to generically used "he" a million times" (Henley 1983).
Studies done on the prescriptive "he" are not abundant and thus it is unclear of the effects that the prescriptive "he" have on society and women in particular. "The fact that prescriptive "he" influences attitudes also cannot be ignored or considered trivial, since prescriptive "he" has all the characteristics of a highly effective propaganda technique: repetition (the frequency of prescriptive "he" implies repetition beyond all extant propaganda techniques), early age acquisition (prior to age 6), covertness (use of prescriptive "he" is not usually intended as an open attempt to maintain or alter attitudes), association with high prestige sources (especially university textbooks), and indirectness (its message is presented indirectly as if it were a matter of common and well-established knowledge)" (Henley 1983).
There are some that argue that language shapes the attitudes and beliefs of a society, "the language has worked with remarkable success in making it possible for man to perpetuate himself as master, to foster the illusion that women are dependant, and in fact, to subjugate women. Male dominance in language may not only reflect but also be involved in the perpetuation of cultural male dominance" (Caldie 1981). However a similar argument can be made that says that language is merely a reflection of the attitudes and beliefs of a society. This may be true, however, "if people aren't reminded that "he" could be "she," it might not occur to them" (Poynton 1989). If educators do not continue to promote the use of "he/she" or "they" then the stereotypes that exist today will remain. "The use of "he/she" or even "she" half of the time when describing generalized achievement situations may alter associational links between sex and attributes, thereby changing expectations which have been socially implicit, thereby encouraging (perhaps by disinhibition) achievement in females" (Caldie 1981). "Although the full impact of prescriptive "he" remains to be explored, effects on attitudes related to achievement motivation, perseverance, and level of aspiration seem likely. McArthur and Eisen found that stories about male vs. female protagonists performing certain activities influenced the achievement motivation (desire to excel in these activities) of male vs. female children... Prescriptive "he" could have similar effects on a much larger scale and may even contribute to the fact that before attending school, boys aspire to traditionally male occupations and girls aspire to traditionally female occupations " (Henley 1983).
Pronoun usage is not the only example of inequalities within the English language. Within the court systems, "women have been labelled as mother and wife, infantile and incompetent, seductive and immoral, and as nonpersons" (Kramarae 1981).
Proverbs handed down throughout the generations concerning women are abundant. For example, tell a woman a secret and you tell the world, behind every great man is a woman, women are strong when they arm themselves with weakness, a woman will always have her way, etc.... (Kramarae 1981). These proverbs are not necessarily negative, however, "we do not have a similarly rich store of proverbs and sayings about men's subtle control of women" (Kramarae 1981).
Eponyms, words that have come from someone's name, are another area filled with inequalities. There are numerous examples of words that are part of the English language that honour men for their accomplishments. For example, Winchester rifle, Gatling gun, Franklin stove, Ferris wheel, sousaphone, etc... (Eschholz 1990). Women, however, are not honoured in the same way. "The only common eponyms taken from American women's names are Alice blue (after Alice Roosevelt Longworth), bloomers (after Amelia Jenks Bloomer), and Mae West jacket (after the buxom actress). Two out of three feminine eponyms relate closely to a women's physical anatomy, while the masculine eponyms have nothing to do with the namesake's body, but, instead, honour the man for an accomplishment of some kind" (Eschholz 1990).
Stereotypes are another area of the English language that have striking inequalities. "They reflect popular images of women's and men's language, perpetuated through proverbs, jokes, journalism, literature, and even by serious language scholars. One of the striking features of these stereotypes is the way they rarely favour women, who are consistently portrayed as chatterboxes, endless gossips or strident nags patiently endured or kept in check by strong and silent men" (Graddol 1991). Because of the stereotypes surrounding many professions, "users of language tend to say "he is a male nurse"; or "I have a woman doctor" (Caldie 1981).
Words that refer to women are commonly associated with negative connotations. For example," hussy" used to be associated with housewife or mistress of a household, now it is used as a rude way of addressing a female (Graddol 1991). "There are "220 terms for a sexually promiscuous woman and only 22 terms for a sexually promiscuous man" (Henley 1983). There are also examples of pairs of words in which the female has a negative connotation while the male equivalent is seen as positive. A bachelor is viewed as a man who has it all while a spinster is a woman who is unable to get a man, usually viewed as ugly and unwanted (Eschholz 1990). Women are referred to in large part by their looks or parts of their bodies. Women are referred to as babes, chicks, broads.
The English language is seemingly built on masculinity. "The use of "man" to refer to people in general or "he" to refer to sex-indefinite antecedents is a paramount example of the invisibility of women in language" (Henley 1983). "I found two hundred pairs of words with masculine and feminine forms, e.g., heir-heiress, hero-heroine, steward-stewardess, usher-usherette. In nearly all such pairs, the masculine word is considered the base, with some kind of feminine suffix being added. The masculine form is the one from which compounds are made, e.g., from king-queen comes kingdom but not queendom, from sportsman-sportslady comes sportsmanship but not sportsladyship" (Eschholz 1990). When pairs occur, the male is usually the neutral form. For example, "dog" refers to a male dog or a dog in general, yet a bitch is a female dog (Graddol 1983). The generic form of many words is often used interchangeably with the male form which, "results in referential shifts from the generic to the male-specific within a single discourse, or even within a single paragraph" (Friedley 1989).
When male/female words appear in pairs, it is almost always the masculine word that appears first, e.g., Mr. and Mrs., his and hers, boys and girls, men and women, etc... (Eschholz 1990).
Gender specific pronoun usage, while it is not proven, certainly seems to contribute to the perpetuation of certain stereotypes. In the 1970's and 1980's the issue of sexism caused American newspaper and magazine editors to become more aware and change the way in which they write. "Some feminists, for example, have exerted considerable pressure on editors to dispense with the generic "he" and to replace it with "he or she," "they," "he/she," or even "s/he"; they have urged that nouns containing the suffix "-man" not be used; they have lobbied against the use of such gender-specific words as "co-ed," "aviatrix," and "poetess"; and they have vigorously protested against such terms as "lady lawyer" and "woman doctor" (Nadler 1987). The press has agreed to some of these terms, "...editors have appeared to be more receptive to arguments regarding stereotypes and stereotypical thinking than they have been to attempts directed specifically at altering the way they use language" (Nadler 1987).
Throughout history society has tolerated male dominance. It is apparent in all aspects of society, even our language. Progress in the use of gender neutral pronouns is painfully slow but nevertheless moving forward in the university environment.
A questionnaire (Appendix I) was handed out to six different classes at Western Connecticut State University. These classes were within different fields; three Communication classes, one English class, and two Social Science classes. These classes were core classes chosen in order to achieve the greatest amount of diversity. Over 125 college students were asked to complete the survey, however, only 116 of these surveys were actually fully completed. 77 of the participants were female (66%), and 39 of the participants were male (34%). The professors of these classes were approached and asked for their co-operation in passing out the questionnaire. The participants were asked to identify themselves by age, sex, year of graduation, and major. Participants were kept anonymous. The questionnaire contained short answers and incomplete sentences. Participants were asked to complete the sentences with a pronoun and answer the questions with a brief reply. The sentences contained a "slant," which may prompt the participant to use a gender-specific pronoun, if not accustomed to using gender neutral pronouns. Upon receiving the completed questionnaire, all of the data were entered onto a spread sheet and sorted by various factors. The data were organized in columns by sex, major, age, year, and question number. The data were coded; 0=female, 1=male, 2=gender neutral, 3=gender avoidance (see figure 2). The various majors were also coded; 4= Undecided, 5= Communications, 6= Psychology, 7= Art, 8= Education, 9= Business, 10= Nursing, 11= Justice and Law Administration, 12= Social Sciences, and 13= English. A data control module was developed in order to help combine and sort data. After sorting the data using the original codes, the data were renamed using the control module. The 0's and 1's were renamed n=0, and the 2's and 3's were renamed n=1 in order to create gender specific and gender neutral categories. The data were once again resorted.
367 (35%) female "she" pronouns were used, 337 (32%) male "he" pronouns were used, 131 (13%) used gender neutral pronouns "he/she" or the singular "they," and 209 (20%) used gender avoidance by not using a pronoun at all. When the students were asked to answer questions 1-3, most students used "he/she," "they," or pronoun avoidance. However, when they were told to use a pronoun for questions 4-9, almost all of the students chose either "he" or "she." See figure 3. There were only 8 of the 116 participants that used "he/she" in questions 4-9. The questions where the sex was not apparent, #'s 4, 5, and 8 showed that predominately female pronouns were used. The questions that were male oriented, #'s 6, 7, and 9 were answered, for the most part, with male oriented pronouns except question #7 which had 51% of the participants fill in using a female pronoun.
The data were then sorted by major as the primary sort and sex as the secondary sort (see figure 4). The undeclared majors (4) used "he" and "she" for the most part equally. The female Communication (5) majors used "she" almost exclusively, males used "he" more frequently. Psychology (6) majors used "she" more often. Art majors (7) uses "he" and "she" equally. Education majors (8) used "she" slightly more than "he." Business majors (9) used "he" with frequency due in part to the fact that the participants were almost exclusively male. Nursing majors (10) used "she" almost exclusively due to the fact that participants were almost exclusively female. JLA majors (11) used "he" due once again to the fact that the participants were almost all male. Social Science majors (12) used "he" and "she" almost equally. English majors (13) use "she" almost exclusively due to the fact that the participants were all female.
The data were then resorted by year, sex, and age (see figure 5). 1995 graduate students used "he" and "she" equally. The older female 1996 graduates used "she" more frequently whereas the younger female 1996 graduates used "he" and "she" equally. The male 1996 graduates used "he" almost exclusively. The 1997 graduates used pronouns in much the same way as the 1996 graduates with one difference, the males used "he" and "she" almost equally. 1998 female graduates used "she" quite heavily. Males 1998 graduates used "he" slightly more. 1999 female graduates use "she" slightly more and males use "he" with frequency.
The next sort was done using the control module (see figure 6). The data were combined in to two categories, gender specific which is the "he" and "she" pronoun combined and gender neutral which is the "he/she" or "they" and pronoun avoidance combined. There data were then sorted by age and sex. The 40 and older age group used gender specific almost exclusively. The 26-29, 30-39, and 24 year old groups used gender neutrality exclusively for questions 1-3 and gender specific pronouns exclusively for questions 4-9. One participant in the 25 year old group used gender neutrality exclusively. The 23 year old participants relied on gender specific pronouns. The 22 year old participants used more gender neutral pronouns. The 21 year old participants used more gender specific pronouns. The 20 year old category saw a few participants use gender neutrality and heavier gender specific usage. The 19 and 18 year old participants used gender specific on questions 1-3 with frequency.
The next sort was done by major and sex (see figure 7). The undeclared majors (4) and the Nursing majors(10), gender specific pronoun usage was heavy and slightly more prevalent in the female participants. The Communication majors (5) displayed heavy gender neutral pronoun usage especially among the women. The Psychology (6), Art (7), and English (13) majors displayed almost exclusive gender neutral pronoun usage in questions 1-3 and exclusive gender specific pronoun usage in questions 4-9. The Education majors (8) relied on gender specific pronoun usage. Male Business majors (9) used more gender specific pronouns than female Business majors. JLA (11) and Social Science (12) majors used gender neutral pronouns in questions 1-3 sporadically.
The results of this study have shown a few things. The fact that 35% of the pronouns used were "she" proves that college educated people are beginning to realize that" she" can be used as well as "he". There were also a few stereotypes that I feel were invalidated rather than perpetuated. When the study was created, question 1,6,7, and 9 were designed for the specific "he" pronoun. Questions 2, 5, and 8 were designed for the specific "she" pronoun. Questions 3 and 4 were designed to be neutral and if a pronoun was inserted, it would most likely depend on the sex of the participant as to how it was answered. Question #9 was the most one sided question. There were some people who used gender neutral pronouns for all of the questions until they got to #9, and then they filled in using the specific "he" pronoun. Response to question #7 was a pleasant surprise. 51% of the participants responded using the "she" pronoun which I feel proves that both men and women are perceiving more traditionally male-oriented jobs as gender-neutral. The results of questions #1 and 2 were not surprising, however not one participant used "she" in response to question #3.
92% of males and 73% of females used an equal or greater number of same sex pronouns. If there were more males surveyed, the results would have differed greatly, there would be far more "he" pronouns used. However, it seems that there are still more people comfortable using pronouns other than "he."
This study showed that Communication majors use gender neutrality most often. This could be due to the fact that they were the largest sampling. Overall, women seemed to be more aware of gender neutrality than males. Students graduating in 1999 seemed to be less comfortable using gender neutral terms. This could be due to a lull in the movement towards stressing the importance of gender neutrality. It could also be due to the fact that this is only their first year of college. 20 year old females used gender neutrality more frequently, whereas 22 year old males used more gender specific pronouns more often.
This study provides an acceptable base for future research. A greater sampling, and a revised questionnaire should be considered for future research. "There are several disadvantages to using an open-ended essay to evaluate... some students are more concise than others" (McMinn 1994). A more varied population other than college students might yield interesting results "...college students tend to be from a limited age range and socio-economic bracket" (Simkins-Bullock 1991).
While this study is not without flaw, some very important insight was gained. In this day and age of "equal opportunity," the English language is still male oriented. However, this study has shown that both college educated men and women use pronouns other than "he" with regularity. There was only one questionnaire received that contained the "he" pronoun exclusively. With continuing education and awareness with regard to this subject, stereotypes may disappear and the English language may become more neutral and fair to women.
I am a Communications major currently enrolled in Senior Thesis. The purpose of the experiment that you are about to participate is designed to aid in the research of gender communication.
The experiment has been approved by Professor Hugh McCarney.
2. Confidentiality of Data; Voluntary Participation
Please be assured that any information that you will provide will be held in strict confidence by the researchers. At no time will your name be reported along with your responses. All data will be reported in group form only. At the conclusion of the study,' upon request, you will receive a report of the results.
Please understand that your participation in this research is totally voluntary, and you are free to withdraw at any time during this study without penalty and to remove any of the data that you may have contributed.
I acknowledge that I have been informed of and understand the nature of this study and freely consent to participate. I acknowledge that I am at least 18 years of age.
Signed:_______________________________ Date:____________________
Project Director: Sandra L. Castagna
Title of Project: Gender inequalities in the English Language
Age:______________________________
Sex:______________________________
Major:____________________________
Year:_____________________________
Please take a minute to answer each question as briefly as possible.
1. A high ranking executive believes an employee is stealing funds. What should the executive do?
2. A nurse thinks that a patient is not taking the medication. What should the nurse do first?
3. A professor thinks a student plagiarized a paper. What should the professor do first?
Please complete each sentence using pronoun.
4. ____________ is a good student.
5. ____________ loves to help people.
6. ____________ is a good doctor.
7. ____________ is a good lawyer.
8. ____________ is a wonderful parent.
9. ____________ is a great mechanic.