Use of nonsexist pronouns as a function of one's feminist orientation

Jacobson, Marsha B.; Insko, William R.

doi:10.1007/bf00287456

Cited by 33 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…However, no such difference was observed for women. Earlier studies on gender-fair language already observed that men are less supportive of gender-fair language (Jacobson and Insko, 1985; Matheson and Kristiansen, 1987; Parks and Roberton, 2002, 2004), and our results are consistent with these findings. Moreover, it must be emphasized that Study 1 was performed at a time when a heated debate on quotas was ongoing in Poland.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Capturing socially motivated linguistic change: how the use of gender-fair language affects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland

et al. 2015

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Gender-fair language consists of the symmetric linguistic treatment of women and men instead of using masculine forms as generics. In this study, we examine how the use of gender-fair language affects readers' support for social initiatives in Poland and Austria. While gender-fair language is relatively novel in Poland, it is well established in Austria. This difference may lead to different perceptions of gender-fair usage in these speech communities. Two studies conducted in Poland investigate whether the evaluation of social initiatives (Study 1: quotas for women on election lists; Study 2: support for women students or students from countries troubled by war) is affected by how female proponents (lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, and academics) are referred to, with masculine forms (traditional) or with feminine forms (modern, gender-fair). Study 3 replicates Study 2 in Austria. Our results indicate that in Poland, gender-fair language has negative connotations and therefore, detrimental effects particularly when used in gender-related contexts. Conversely, in Austria, where gender-fair language has been implemented and used for some time, there are no such negative effects. This pattern of results may inform the discussion about formal policies regulating the use of gender-fair language.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Capturing socially motivated linguistic change: how the use of gender-fair language affects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland

et al. 2015

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“…Although previous research already demonstrated that people who use more gender fair forms in their written language are individuals with lower sexist attitudes (Cralley & Ruscher, ; Jacobson & Insko, ; Swim et al, ), our study is the first to provide empirical support that this interrelation is also perceived by listeners. Also, to our knowledge, our study is the first in providing support for such an interrelationship for the German language.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Ambassadors of gender equality? How use of pair forms versus masculines as generics impacts perception of the speaker

Vervecken

Hannover

2012

Euro J Social Psych

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Although the use of gender fair language is strongly promoted in German‐speaking countries, the impact of its use on the way speakers are perceived by others is still unknown. Results of two experimental studies showed that irrespective of their sex, speakers using pair forms rather than generic masculines were perceived more competent by both men and women. Also, they were seen as less sexist by male and female listeners with positive attitudes towards linguistic equality. Findings with respect to the attribution of warmth were more complex: they were not only impacted by language use, but also dependent on speaker's sex and listener's attitude towards linguistic equality. Results are discussed in the context of language and stereotypes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…This study showed that using masculine generic pronouns led people to assign the person a male name (Hamilton 1988). Another study showed a direct relationship between feminist beliefs as measured by the Attitudes towards Women Scale and the use of non-generic pronouns (Jacobson and Insko 1985). While it seems clear that sexist attitudes and pronoun usage are linked, no research has examined whether the use of languages with grammatical gender could have the broader effect of promoting sexist attitudes such as negative views toward equal opportunity for working women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

¿Qué? Quoi? Do Languages with Grammatical Gender Promote Sexist Attitudes?

Wasserman¹,

Weseley²

2009

Sex Roles

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Languages such as French and Spanish assign a gendered article to nouns. Three experiments examined whether reading a language with grammatical gender would increase sexist attitudes. Suburban, New York high school students (N = 74, 85, 66) were randomly assigned to complete a survey of sexist attitudes in either English or a language with grammatical gender (French or Spanish). Students in the English condition expressed less sexist attitudes than students in the French or Spanish conditions, and the language used affected females more than males. When the experiment was replicated on bilingual students, similar results were found. Males also expressed more sexist attitudes than females. This study suggests that languages with grammatical gender promote sexist attitudes and have particular impact on females.

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Use of nonsexist pronouns as a function of one's feminist orientation

Cited by 33 publications

References 9 publications

Capturing socially motivated linguistic change: how the use of gender-fair language affects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland

Capturing socially motivated linguistic change: how the use of gender-fair language affects support for social initiatives in Austria and Poland

Ambassadors of gender equality? How use of pair forms versus masculines as generics impacts perception of the speaker

¿Qué? Quoi? Do Languages with Grammatical Gender Promote Sexist Attitudes?

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