1. Gender Representation

2. Lesson Outcomes
By the end of the session We will have re-examined collocations, specifically in relation to the topic of language and gender. We will have examined key gender theory; Hoey, Sinclair and Baker, as well as introduced corpus linguistics. We will have examined gender, ideologies, stereotypes and representation of gender through the analysis of toy adverts and lonely hearts adverts. This will also support preparation for your Paper 1 and Paper 2 exams.

3. JOHN SINCLAIR talked of the importance of analysing ‘the company that words keep’, or their collocation.  

4. Collocations

6. Hoey (2005)
Lexical Priming theory suggests that we are primed [readied by our prior experience of words] to expect words to be in the company of other words [their collocations] and also expect words to appear in certain grammatical situations [their grammatical colligations] and in certain positions in text and discourse [their textual colligations]. Thus the collocation 'by the way' would be primed for us to appear, most of the time, at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of an utterance; corpus research could tell us which position – initial, middle or end – is the most common [and therefore strongest] priming.

7. Colligation is a type of collocation, but where a lexical item is linked to a grammatical one. Surprising, amazing and astonishing are nearly synonymous. We can say it is astonishing/surprising/amazing, but we tend to say it is not surprising and not the others- surprising colligates with the negative.

8. Corpus Research
The word corpus comes from the Latin ‘body’ (plural corpora). In linguistics a corpus is a collection of texts (a ‘body’ of language) stored in an electronic database. Corpora are usually large bodies of machine-readable text containing thousand of millions of words. British National Corpus: Your personal study task is to research the British National Corpus (BNC) – Lancaster University has some good resources.

9. PAUL BAKER reported on bachelor/spinster and the words that collocated with these. He called his title ‘Eligible bachelors and frustrated spinsters’. He looked at the term ‘bachelor’ and ‘spinster’ in the BNC and found that bachelor occurs 424 times but spinster occurs 140 times – this shows a frequency bias towards the male term.

10. Stereotypes
The stereotypical man? The stereotypical woman?

11. Gender is perhaps the basic category we use for sorting human beings
Gender is perhaps the basic category we use for sorting human beings. Essential elements of our own identity, and the identities we assume other people to have, come from concepts of gender - what does it mean to be a boy or a girl?

12. Many objects, not just humans, are represented by the media as being particularly masculine or feminine - particularly in advertising - and we grow up with an awareness of what constitutes 'appropriate' characteristics for each gender.

13. List as many as you can think of:
What do the media tell us are ‘typical’ masculine and feminine attributes?
List as many as you can think of:
Masculine
Feminine
tough
hard
sweaty
active
fragile
soft
fragrant
passive
Notice how these tend to be opposites…

14. Music system (iPod etc.) Trainers A games console
How might the following objects be 'gendered' through advertising, given that both sexes will use the product, i.e. how will the advertisers appeal to their masculine/feminine audience?
A car
A watch
Bottled beer
Toilet paper
Deodorant
Music system (iPod etc.)
Trainers
A games console

15. Traditional ideologies about gender
"Gender ideology refers to attitudes regarding the appropriate roles, rights, and responsibilities of women and men in society." 
- Amy Kroska (American Sociological Association)

16. Traditionally, men have held the power in our society
Traditionally, men have held the power in our society. The system where men have power and control in society is called patriarchy.
It is understood as a society run by men for men.

17. Representation of gender in toy advertisements
Representation of gender in toy advertisements

18. Task 1 Make a list of the toys you would stereotypically associate with girls / boys

19. Socialisation: the process by which a person learns to function within a particular society or group by internalising its values and norms.

20. Task 2
Analyse the toy advertisements for how language is used to represent gender
You need to make notes on:
stereotypical / non-stereotypical roles
the use of graphology (the images, use of colour, etc.)
the semantic fields (groups of words associated with a particular topic)
the types of sounds
the word classes e.g. verbs, empty adjectives
the sentence functions e.g. imperatives
Also try to apply any research / theory you consider relevant.

21. Consolidation Task
Choose one of the toy adverts. Write a short analysis on how the text uses language to create meanings and representations.

22. Representation of gender in Lonely Hearts Columns/Personal Ads

23. Female Predictions We might expect females to offer:
Youth and attractiveness ('cute', 'buxom' 'petite', 'shapely'), caring behaviour ('kind', 'gentle', 'sincere'), perhaps the promise of sex ('cuddly', 'sensual' 'into fun times').
They may seek:
Resources, and the willingness to invest them (i.e. 'homeowner', 'employed', 'professional' 'generous', 'sharing' etc).
Intelligence ('educated'), mate reliability ('honesty'), and a partner who is older than themselves ('mature').
Certain physical features (i.e. 'tall', 'muscular') but may not particularly emphasise 'good looks'.

24. Male Predictions We might expect males to principally offer:
Resources (i.e. status, job description, property ownership, likes holidays abroad) and reliability ('honest', 'mature' etc).
While they may not offer good looks they may emphasise their height or physique ('tall', 'rugged', 'healthy').
They will seek:
Younger attractive partners and will probably not demand intelligence, social status, or resources.
Certain characteristics such as 'generosity', 'good sense of humour', 'kindness', 'caring nature' etc. may be sought by both sexes.

26. Development TASK
Considering the features we have discussed, create your own lonely hearts column/personal ad.