Allyson Jule - A Beginners Guide to Language and Gender

MM Textbooks

Advisory Board:

Professor Colin Baker, University of Wales, Bangor, UK

Professor Viv Edwards, University of Reading, Reading, UK

Professor Ofelia Garca, Columbia University, New York, USA

Dr Aneta Pavlenko, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA

Professor David Singleton, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

Professor Terrence G. Wiley, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA

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MM Textbooks: 13

A Beginners Guide to Language and Gender

2nd Edition

Allyson Jule

MULTILINGUAL MATTERS

Bristol Blue Ridge Summit

Dedicated to my sister, Joan Michelle Jule (Minnie), 19631988

and to my new little grandchild-to-be

and to all emerging feminist scholars.

This second edition was made possible by spending my sabbatical year at the International Gender Studies Centre at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford. The warmth of the scholars at the IGS Centre created an intellectually stimulating place. Being part of the University of Oxford was wonderfully motivating and energizing, and I couldnt have completed this manuscript without that opportunity.

I feel deep gratitude for my colleagues at Trinity Western Universitys Gender Studies Institute and the many TWU students who take Gender Studies courses and regularly attend monthly evening discussions. Also, my colleagues in the School of Education have been endlessly supportive.

Anna Roderick and the team at Multilingual Matters have been incredibly helpful and encouraging throughout the process of seeing this manuscript published. I am so grateful to Julie Sutherland and her good eyes in editing the script. I am also, as ever, thankful to Cheryl Wall for her steady help on the manuscript. Her kindnesses are too many to mention. Thank you, my dear friend.

Finally, my familys support is central in all I do, and their generosity in giving me the time away and the space to think always makes all the difference. My deepest gratitude goes to my husband, Marvin Lemke, and our son, Clark, and our daughter, Jane and our son-in-law, Jeremy. Thank you. Always.

The 2008 publication of The Beginners Guide to Language and Gender was successful in its primary goal to be accessible as a first text for those interested in understanding the connection between gender and language. The book has been referenced in many places, including Time magazines March 12, 2014 issue, in the article entitled, How not to sound like a sexist jerk. The book received positive reviews in many academic journals and is listed in An Interdisciplinary Bibliography on Language, Gender and Sexuality, 20002011 (entry 1422). Yet, with the incredible recent changes in the world regarding gender and language, it seems time for an update. The 2008 book appears to have been helpful to a wide range of people who were seeking a basic introduction to the wild and wonderful world of gender studies and who wanted to know more about how the language we use connects to our gender identities. It is the intention of this edition to continue in the same way.

The world has changed a great deal over the past few years on a wide range of gender issues. For example, little attention was paid to transgenderism in 2008, but there is now significant public discourse on the issue. The very public transformation of Caitlyn Jenner in 2015 found its way to the cover of Vogue magazine and sparked a new focus in regards to gender identity. In addition, there have been an increasing number of conversations in the West concerning the use of the veil among women Muslim communities and/or how gender is a part of Islamic communities in general and in the current terrorist organizations in particular. These were issues not on the radar in 2008. More attention has also been given to the notion of the continuum of gender identity in various settings, particularly revealed and lived out on social media. The steady changes in technology have also meant new contexts regarding gender and social actions. Various public awareness campaigns such as Ban Bossy, I am a girl and Emma Watsons HeforShe reveal how public discourse has shifted more toward the connecting of language and gender than appeared only a few years ago. It seems the world has caught on to the power of language in meaning-making and in framing gender/sexual identities. In addition, international attention on climate change has also been heavily influenced by the work of eco-feminists and their critique of capitalism and neoliberalism. Arguably, the last 10 years have seen more attention given to gender and language than in any other period in history.