Sexism in English Sexism in English language reflects the traditional ethics th

Sexism in English
    Good morning, everyone. Today we will talk about sexism in English. As we all know, sexism in English language has existed for a long time, which is the reflection of the traditional ethics that men are superior to women. Today I will focus on the causes of sexism in English language, and I will discuss it from four aspects: the cultural factor, the physiological factor, the social factor and the psychological factor.
    (1) First, let’s have a look at the cultural factor.
    The Holy Bible is actually a book of men. As Christianity is such a powerful religion in Western countries, it is unreasonable to deny that this helps to set and consolidate the inferiority of women. From the Holy Bible, we know the man came to the world first while the woman was made from one of the man’s ribs. From the order of the birth, it is obvious to see the different importance of men and women. In addition, (2) the first sin is also committed by the woman, who was seduced by the snake into eating the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and having the man eat them too. At last, the woman was punished to bring forth children in pain and was ruled over by the man. From above, the superiority of men and inferiority of women is clearly seen.
    Second, we’ll move to the physiological factor.
    For extended work and life together, people realized that (3-1) men are tall in stature, strong in muscle and robust in physique. (3-2/4) In contrast to men, women are small in stature, weak in physique and have more fat and less muscle than men. Women also mature more rapidly. In a word, men are stronger than women. This determines that men play a more important role in social and economic lives. A man’s job is to work outside but a woman’s job is to stay at home, doing the housework and taking care of the children. Women are treated as the weaker ones and they realize their own values through their marriages to men. At last, women are lower in status. They have to depend on men and are dominated by men. (5) Gradually, people begin to discriminate against women and think that they are inferior in intelligence. This wrong perspective forms slowly and reflects in language.
    (6) Third, I’ll focus on the social factor, or we might say the division of labor.
    (7) Feminists all claim that we live in a patriarchal society: a society of men, ruled by men and for men. Patriarchy depicts men as the perfect norm against which women are measured and found lacking.
    (8) Both the Western and Eastern societies use sex, to one degree or another, in allocating tasks, activities, rights, and responsibilities. As for the job done by men and women, there is a long-stereotyped notion of what they can do. (9) In history, there has been a division of labor—a division in which women’s place was restrained at home for housework and childcare while men worked outside being the breadwinner. At last, men had dominance over women, and women had to be dependent on men. This was the turning point for women. From then on, in paternal society, slavery society and capitalist society, women had been at the bottom of society. In the long and endless course of history, sexism against women has been accumulated. It is the division of labor that leads to different social status. This has been clear in ancient and modern society. Later, in addition to domestic work, women began to enter the paid workplace. However, even though half of women are employed outside the home, the belief persists that a woman’s role is primarily that of a wife and a mother.
    (10) Due to women’s relative physical weakness and lower educational background, they do primarily the low-status, low-paying jobs. (11) Although men also have family roles, they are defined primarily by their economic or occupational position. Thus sexism in the society has been in existence, the embodiment of which is necessarily sexism in language.
(12) Finally, let’s look at the psychological factor.
    Because of the social and cultural factors, women are always considered to be the weak. People treat women as men’s appendages. (13) They educate men to be manly, decisive, and brave while (14) women are required to be polite, conservative, obedient, and gentle. Because women are in subordinate status in the society, they have to constrain their emotions and give up their own needs to satisfy those of men. As time passes, women pay more attention to the elegance and standard of language than men. They use more pleasant and polite words in the hope that they can receive others’ approval. (15) And they are taught to speak softly, to avoid contradicting others, and to be obedient in communication. They mould themselves to be inferior in their sub-consciousness. Therefore, women try their best to strengthen their social status through their speech than men do. The lower women’s position is, the more polite they are in the presence of others. And the standard of the language they use can show their submission and politeness. This also suggests that women are in a lower position in the society.
    With this, we’re coming to the end of today’s lecture. Next time, we’ll talk about the phenomena of sexism in English language. Thanks for your listening. Wish my explanation may give you some help. See you next time.