Example Of A `colloquial Article` For English Language

Don t Call me Angel - is it time us bunnies started biting back?

Without attempting to sound pedantic about how subtle forms of sexism are shown in society, it s time we really thought about the terms of endearment used for women. Now, I understand why people may question why this is even a topic of discussion. Can something as meager and innocent as the nicknames babe, bird or darling be a hot, contentious issue up for debate? Well, in short, yes. Arianna Grande s new song Don t Call me Angel , in collaboration with Lana Del Rey and Miley Cyrus highlights how in 2019, we are rejecting societal ideals of women contrived by female terms of endearment.I get it. It s easy to overlook comparisons of women to various feeble animals such as chick and bunny . However, when you start to consider why the stereotypical female is reminiscent of our small furry friends, you question the implication of the language casually used to refer to women. For example, the idea that many women have a sickly-sweet nature (shown through nouns such as honey and sweetie etc.) is arguably as demeaning as personally patting them on the head and shoving a large red lollipop in their mouths.

I don t largely dislike small, cute animals or despise any calorific sweet treat. The issue with these terms doesn t lie with the lexical items themselves, but rather the semantic connotations associated with the terms. Linguist Allen Pace Nilsen interestingly describes how the chick metaphor reflects societal ideals of women as they age. When a girl is young, she is referred to as a chick , then marries, and soon begins to feel cooped up. Nilsen then expands on this by stating that she goes to hen parties and cackles with her friend before eventually starting to henpeck her husband like an old biddy . Josephine Donovan, author of Animals and Women further elaborates on this metaphor by suggesting how hens symbolise the lives of stifled women . That women are only valued for their reproductive usefulness which diminishes once they become said old biddy .

I m not sure whether this is at the forefront of every laddish bloke s mind who calls his female friends birds , however it is a valid interpretation of how seemingly innocent terms can have underlying derogatory meanings. Besides, it s not simply downright odd to be compared to these precocial animals, but such terms can be outwardly undermining and condescending to many women. A survey conducted by Crunch Accounting found that 41% of women say that they have experienced patronising behavior in the workplace, with 1 in 10 also feeling belittled in their current position. These findings demonstrate the effect of how something as small as a name can reflect and somewhat encourage larger issues of inequality. Now, I m not saying that if men stop using bakery desserts terms to refer to women that (boom!) suddenly there will be equality amongst the sexes. Nevertheless, if people are more aware and conscious of their language, their behaviour may eventually follow in pursuit.

It is also interesting to take a look behind the meaning of gender specific affixation in English (e.g ess and ette). These affixes, used to indicate the female equivalent of a term can unfortunately take on diminutive connotations. For example, whilst the major is a leading drummer, a majorette twirls pretty sticks around in the air. On a plane, whilst a steward is typically the person in charge, a stewardess acts as the serving trolley dolly . It seems as if even when we are not touching the ground, we cannot seem to free ourselves from these degrading affixes. I m not trying to insult majorettes or stewardess , but my point is that you can clearly see these male and female marked terms are not equal. These underlying sexist connotations have even permeated their way through to mundane home-ware designs such as the affix applied to kitchen, the kitchenette being smaller version more limited in its capabilities. Not even your small cooking area is safe from sexist remarks!

Again, it may seem like a minuscule point to be irritated about. Once you know the connotations and implications of the language you use, however, you can then understand the power behind those words. Each patronising term or diminutive suffix reinforces old-fashioned and expired ideas about women as the weaker, softer and less powerful sex. If we acknowledge the impact of these words, we can take a step forward in using language to empower women rather than to undermine them.