Gender Binary
Deborah Tannen: Gender-specific language rituals
Play videoThis is video talk about gender specific language rituals. There are huge differences speaking ways between boys and girls. In this video, Deborah Tannen gives some interesting examples about boy's conversation and girl's conversation. It is very interesting to find the difference.
The Pronoun They
This article explains how we have gender pronouns in the English language. By drawing examples from how English developed, McCulloch provides information of why gender pronouns are important and are used today.
#Ideology
#Lexicon
#Performativity
#Gender non conforming
#Gender binary [Published on 06-02-2014]
"Pink or Blue" Video
A video essay set to a poem on gender. It was commissioned to open the Saatchi showcase in Cannes the film uses 3D technology to allow the viewer to switch between two different versions of the film depending which set of glasses they view it through. Much of the video and poem deals with how language and performance affect one's social interactions. [Published on 07-01-2017]
Asterisk*
Play audioAsterisk* is a spoken word poem written and performed by Oliver Renee Schminkey. This piece first appeared as the closing act of The Naked I: Insides Out produced by 20% Theater Company in Minneapolis, MN. The artist, who identifies as gender queer, eloquently and powerfully describes what it is like to live in a world that neither affirms nor denies their gender identity. It exemplifies how prescriptive language that is set in ideology can be limiting and discriminatory.
'He', 'She', 'They' and 'Us'
This article appeared on The New York Times Insider and discusses transgender issues and the use of a person’s preferred pronoun rather than the conventional or binary pronouns commonly used when reporting a news story. The Washington Post, The Associated Press, and The New York Times policy for use of unconventional pronouns is discussed. [Published on 04-05-2017]
Boys' keypads Versus Girls' keypads
This image of “boys’ keypads versus girls’ keypads” shows ideologies about gender and texting. Apparently on a woman’s keypad, there are only three not-so-much-informative words: hm, ok, and oh, while boys seem to text normally, at least in words or sentences. It also shows a phonological feature of women’s texting habits like “hmmmmm, okkkkkk, ohhhhhh” which seems unnecessary when conveying information. In the place of the punctuation button, women apparently use two emojis: smile and wink. This may indicate two things: women’s talk is more cooperative, emotional and encouraging; or women’s talk is mostly not genuine, since whatever others text, women only reply with a happy emoji. Compared to the ideologies that women talk more than men, this keyboard image seems to show women scarcely text anything more than three non-informative words and emojis. However, they both portray a negative image of women’s talk: not too much content. The anecdote also portrays a binary distinction between girls’ talk and boys’ talk, and ignores the varieties of how women/men actually talk in real life.
Helping Trans People Find Their Voices
Play videoSpeech-language pathologist, Christie Block, helps transgender people find their voice.
Freshwoman
This article has an interesting perspective on Language and sexism. How our language is still objectifying woman. It's speaks to the power of the words we use. [Published on 03-20-2012]
Latinx: The ungendering of the Spanish language
A NPR story on the current practice of using a gender-neutral term for Spanish nouns like Latino/a, amigo/am, etc. Some commons approaches are Latin@ and Latinx. [Published on 01-29-2016]
The linguists studied female Disney characters - and what they found was startling
An overview of the recent research by Carmen Fought about gender differentiation in Disney films. [Published on 01-26-2016]
Facebook, the gender binary, and third person pronouns
An article by Lal Zimman about Facebook's changes to the options provided to users for gender identity and preferred pronoun usage. [Published on 09-23-2014]
The Gender neutral pronoun: 150 years later, still an epic fail
An article suggesting that efforts to introduce a gender neutral pronoun into English are bound to fail, given the history of the practice. [Published on 08-16-2010]
Hank Green on Genderbready Stuff
Play videoIn this video, Hank talks about a lot of stuff covered in the Genderbread Person posts. This is definitely not a perfect model either, but I think it's interesting to get another version (though he is also a cishet white male...).
For example, though he does have the continuum going from "man" to "woman", which I do think is problematic, I think it's interesting that he added the "intensity" dimension.
A response to Naomi Wolf
Deborah Cameron's excellent response to Naomi Wolf. [Published on 07-26-2015]
Can changing how you sound help you find your voice?
A NPR story profiling two women who worked to change their voices due to the stigmatization of their ways of talking. These woman worked with a voice therapist who normally provides therapy to transgender individuals. [Published on 10-14-2014]
57% of Languages do not have gendered pronouns
A map from the website "Sociological Images" showing the distribution of gendered and gender-neutral pronouns in the world's languages. 57% of languages profiled here make no gender distinctions. [Published on 10-11-2014]
Sweden's new gender neutral pronoun is a step towards equality, and catching on quick
A blog post on the recent spread of the gender neutral pronoun "hen" in Sweden. [Published on 10-08-2014]
Speech markers reveal details about your age, sex, and lifestyle, scientists claim
A daily mail article discussing research that finds gender and age-based differences in the use of fillers [Published on 10-06-2014]
"Ultimate Man Cave" Paint Colors
In 2011, Canadian paint company CIL paints renamed 27 of their paint colors to appeal to male shoppers, with names like "Dirty Socks, "Midlife Crisis, and "Iced Vodka."
Citation: Lakoff, Robin. 1972. Language and Women's Place.
2010 Color Survey Results
Results from a survey asking participants to label colors in 2010, with an analysis of gender differentiation in the data.
Citation: Lakoff, Robin. 1972. Language and Women's Place. Journal of Sociolinguistics.
Women don't talk more than men, so why do people believe that they do?
A Slate article debunking the myth that women talk more than men, and speculating about the myth's staying power.
Copywriter uses male pen-name
A 2009 blog post from online copywriter James Chartrand of Men with Pens, revealing her choice to adopt a male pen-name in order to earn more in her field.
Dad wears skirt
A 2012 article about a German father who supports his son's desire to wear skirts and dresses by wearing a skirt himself.