Factors of Sexism in English Language

雪蓮

【Abstract】Women were always considered to be the weaker sex and were looked down upon since ancient times in our society. This is called gender bias. The ubiquitous of such kind of prejudice in English language display a phenomenon of society， which is aggravating the expansion of sexual discrimination. This paper is devoted to the detailed study of sexism in the English language and several factors will be offered to support my standpoint.

【Key words】sexism English language factors

As a phenomenon of society， language reflects all the sides of human society naturally. According to the historically， women， who were always regarded as a weaker gender in society， are discriminated for a long time and completely subordinated not only in political life， economic life ， but family life in the society while men were the center of the society. Unavoidably， this kind of phenomenon has been embodied in languages， which is called sexism in the English language. Sexist language expresses unfair assumptions about gender differences.

1. Cultural factor

From Holy Bible （The Books of The Old Testament）， “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep； and while he was sleeping， he took one of the mans ribs and closed up the place with flesh.” Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man， and he brought her to the man.， people are familiar with the story about how the Lord God made a woman. Man came to the world first， then， the woman who is made from one of mans ribs， it is obvious to see the distinctive significance of man and woman； man and woman are not equal at all for that woman is only a part of man， which itself is the discrimination and prejudice against women.

In English-speaking countries， people are also influenced by the mythology， especially the Greek mythology. The role of women in mythology can also help us to understand gender-bias in English language. In most of mythological stories， no matter the role of women is goddesses or even a wife of a god， the description related to them is always beauty， intelligence and so on. Even if they sometimes are called “the mother of land”， they can hardly evade being regarded as “the original of evil”， while the role of men is usually the master of world， such as Zeus， the master of gods； Poseidon， taking the charge of sea.

The discrimination and prejudice against women is a part of culture ideology. Culture ideology refers to the ideas and attitude associated with culture values， from which formed the sexism in English language.endprint

2. Social factor

According to historical notion， there has been a division of labor， in which womens status was restrained at home as housewives for managing household affairs and taking care of child while men worked outside to support their living costs. Therefore， women had been gradually dominated over by men， and even had to be dependent on men. From then on， the discrimination against women has been accumulated， which is due to various divisions of labor that leads to unfair social status. This has been clear in ancient and modern society.

Later， women began to join the outside world in addition to house work， however， the belief insist that woman is in the roles of wife and mother， mainly and primarily. Whats more， what they can do was always the low-status， low-paying jobs due to their relative physical weakness and lower educational background. Thus the gender-bias in the society has been in existence， the embodiment of which is necessarily the sexism of language.

3. Psychological factor

Base on the cultural and social factors， women， who were always regarded as a weaker gender in society， are discriminated for a long time and treated as an inferior to men. Women are always required to be polite， conservative， obedient， and gentle， while men are educated to be manly， determined， and courageous. For the reason that women are completely subordinated not only in political life， economic life， but family life in the society while men were the center of the society， they have to conceal their emotion and give up their own need to meet mens satisfaction.

Women pay more attention to the elegance and standard of language than men contribute to that they are taught to speak softly， to avoid disputing with others， and to be obedient in communication. The lower womens status is， the more polite they are when facing other people. And the standard language they use could display their submission and politeness clearly， which imply that women are in a lower position in the society.

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