We’ve Come a Long Way, Guys! Rhetorics of Resistance to the Feminist Critique of Sexist Language

Abstract

We provide a qualitative analysis of resistance to calls for gender-neutral language. We analyzed more than 900 comments responding to two essays—one on AlterNet and another on Vox posted to the Vox editor’s Facebook page—that critiqued a pervasive male-based generic, “you guys.” Five rhetorics of resistance are discussed: appeals to origins, appeals to linguistic authority, appeals to aesthetics, appeals to intentionality and inclusivity, and appeals to women and feminist authorities. These rhetorics justified “you guys” as a nonsexist term, thereby allowing commenters to continue using it without compromising their moral identities as liberals or feminists. In addition to resisting an analysis that linked their use of “you guys” to social harms, commenters positioned the authors who called for true generics as unreasonable, divisive, and authoritarian. We conclude with suggestions for how feminists can challenge the status quo and promote social change.

A Little Word That Means A Lot: A Reassessment of Singular They in a New Era of Gender Politics

“…Others, including those who consider themselves to be gender progressives, may be convinced that the problem with using singular they is strictly grammatical. This position, we suggest, is akin to self-identified feminists who deny the androcentric implications of using the familiar term “you guys” (Kleinman, Copp, and Wilson 2021): In both cases, speakers defend a linguistic practice by denying its political implications. Our analysis demonstrates that using singular they advances gender justice, whereas merely avoiding its use does not.…”

IDENTITAS DAN PERGERAKAN PEREMPUAN PERANAKAN TIONGHOA DALAM NOVEL BERGERAK? KARYA TAN BOEN SOAN (Peranakan Chinese Women’s Identity and Movement in Tan Boen Soan’s Bergerak?)

“…Kemunculan teori kritik sastra feminis dapat dikatakan merupakan sebuah upaya perlawanan para kaum feminis terhadap nasib perempuan dalam dunia sastra yang dipengaruhi oleh kultur patriarki yang menyudutkan perempuan. Dengan demikian, kritik sastra feminis pada dasarnya menolak standar-standar kuno dan dapat digunakan oleh kaum feminis untuk membantu mereka dalam merekonstruksi politik patriarki, salah satunya dalam aspek bahasa (Ohito & Nyachae, 2019;Kleinman, Copp & Wilson, 2021). Dalam penelitian ini, perempuan tidak saja terkait dengan gender, melainkan juga terkait dengan etnisnya, yakni peranakan Tionghoa.…”

One of the Good Ones: Rhetorical Maneuvers of Whiteness

“…They are also embedded in the way racial minorities and immigrants are praised (Estrada et al, 2019). In addition, they are used as a defensive tactic to explain away oppression, legitimize racist practices, and delegitimize social justice efforts (Armenta, 2017; Delgado, 2018; Kleinman et al, 2021; LeChasseur et al, 2020; Sumerau and Grollman, 2018). These forms of racial stupidity were the by-products of all the wrong lessons being taken from the civil rights movement (Fleming 2018).…”