EDP 362T Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Domestic Violence, Machismo, Stereotype Threat
Lecture 3
Language about men and women
• Linguistic sexism – inequitable treatment of women and gender issues that is built into
the language.
o Steward/stewardess – gender-marked shifts.
o Sexualization/devaluation of women.
o Mrs. Man: Mrs. Vs. Ms for marital status; Using Ms = radical, masculine, less
likeable. Taking husband’s last name reflects ambiguity about identity as wives
vs. individuals (heritage of patriarchy).
o He/Man language: word for “man” is referred to general human in a lot of
language = generic masculine terms.
▪ Using masculine interpretation cause women to remember less than if
gender-neutral words were used.
• People = male bias – assumption that male is the subject. People more likely to do this.
• Animal = male bias – bias toward using masculine pronouns and believing animals is
male.
• Slangs referring to women have more sexual meaning and more dehumanizing than men.
• Media coverage of athletes – cultural biases against women playing sports = women
described sexualized way rather than on their performance.
o Sports are gender-marked: basketball vs. women’s basketball.
o Affects women’s performance, gets perceived as attractive but less talented; gives
more respect and attractiveness to heterosexual women.
Language about violence
• People overuse passive voice when talking/writing about rape and other violence against
women. Tend to focus on victims rather than perpetrators in volence against women.
• “domestic violence, spousal abuse, abusive relationships” may function to hide that most
serious violence in relationships is committed by men against women.
The Content of Gender Stereotypes
• Physical stereotypes:
o Women = dainty, soft, graceful.
o Men = tall, strong, sturdy.
• Personality traits:
o Women = affective and communal (concerned with feelings and other people)
o Men = instrumental and agentic (active agent and effective doer).
• Role stereotypes:
o Women = housewife/mother, sexy woman, athletic woman, career-oriented
woman.
o Men = blue-collar worker, athletic man, macho, businessman.
• Sexuality stereotype:
o Women = strong in physical skills/personality traits tend to be stereotyped as
lesbians.
o Men = more effeminate and enjoy “girly” pursuits like fashion and decorating =
gay.
• Race and social class stereotypes:
o American women: intelligent, materialistic, sensitive.
o White women: dependent, emotional, passive.
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Document Summary
Language about men and women: linguistic sexism inequitable treatment of women and gender issues that is built into the language, steward/stewardess gender-marked shifts, sexualization/devaluation of women, mrs. man: mrs. Vs. ms for marital status; using ms = radical, masculine, less likeable. Language about violence: people overuse passive voice when talking/writing about rape and other violence against women. Tend to focus on victims rather than perpetrators in volence against women: domestic violence, spousal abuse, abusive relationships may function to hide that most serious violence in relationships is committed by men against women. Static: stereotypes become part of self-schema, cause stereotype threat, creating harmful self-fulfilling prophecies (descriptive and prescriptive = what man/woman. When used for masturbation, men may be conditioning their bodies to use violence against women as stimulus for pleasure: erotica: material that is merely sexually arousing without the themes. Media images: women are underrepresented in mass media and in prime-time network commercials for all products except health and beauty items.