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ABSTRACT

Sexism is a widely debated area in the subject of gender and language. This paper

explores methodologies to describe and to what extent sexism exist in ESL textbooks. This study

caters four ESL textbooks from grade seven, eight, nine, and ten. eminist stylistics, a theory and

method used to analy!e text on the way gender is presented, was being used in this research. The

writers of this paper have found out that there exist sexism or gender ine"uality in the ESL

textbooks. #esults revealed that the ESL textbooks used in San $gustin %nstitute and Technology

&igh School is considered sexist.

English is a patriarchal language. The research recommends that authors, readers, and

other humane must be aware of the sexism in language and the use of inclusive language.

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

'any years had gone but sexist language still existing in our culture. %t appears

consciously or unconsciously in our writing or speeches. Some say that language merely reflects

reality and so we should ignore our words, and work on changing the une"ual gender

arrangements that are reflected in our language ()leinman, *++-. $ccording to ambridge

dictionary sexist language excludes one sex or the other, or which suggest that one sex is

superior to the other. This present study aims at analy!ing the textbooks of high school students

and how language is presented and used. Language is an important component in sex role

ac"uisition (&yde, /012-. $s a result, the manner in which gender is depicted in written

languages influences students3 thoughts and behaviour. %t significantly affects students3 attitudes

and disposition towards themselves, other people, and society.

Sexist Language is words and phrases that demean and, ignore, or stereotype members of

either sex or that needlessly call attention to gender (4ord"uist, *+/2-. %n every culture gender

ine"uality cannot be avoided in which 5man6 is the norm, and the 5woman6 is the deviant. $

previous research of 4a 7attalung, 7. (*++1-, which entitled 5$n $nalysis of Sexist Language in

ESL Textbooks 8y Thai $uthors used in Thailand6 focuses on identifying the types of sexist

language, what gender roles are communicated as appropriate, and if the language in ESL

textbook support or challenge patriarchy. The result of this study show that sexist language is

present in the textbooks and that the textbooks contain content that promotes sexist assumptions

concerning gender roles and that the language support patriarchy. This present study will be

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dealing with the ESL textbooks from grade seven to ten using the critical discourse analysis. %t

will be an analysis to determine if, and possibly to what extent, sexism exist in textbooks..

Language can reflect sexism (romkin 9 #odman, /00:-. Sexism greatly affects the role

of the women into any field of studies. #esearch shows that sexist language affects the

disposition of an individual towards the society. $merian, '., 9 Esmaili, . (*++;- have said that

other investigated textbooks over the world, in this case, females seem to be treated unfairly in

such a way that their portion to males is about / to *. %n other words, males are represented

nearly two fold comparing females. 'oreover, this aims to analy!ed the English textbooks of

high school students and to find out if there is any gender< biased, and how male and female are

presented towards the use of language.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

=uestions of the Study>

This study aims at answering the following "uestions?

/. @hat are the sexist terms found in the textbooksA

*. To what extent sexism exist in grade , 1, 0, and /+ English textbooksA

:. @hat are the levels of the sexist language found in the ESL textbookA

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Significance of the Stud

inding of this study is for self


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Se&i't "anguage

• Connotati(e #eaning< %t represents stereotypes of both male and female.

• Denotati(e #eaning< it is a language that excludes either men or women when discussing a

topic that is applicable to both sexes. This includes using the word man to refer humanity, and

using titles like ongressman and fireman. $nother common that shows gender bias is assign

that the subject of all sentences is male.

Se&i'#

< %s the belief that the members of one sex, usually women, are less capable than those of the other

sex and should be treated differently.

Language

< %s a system of communication which consists of a set of sounds and written symbols which are

used by the people of a particular country for telling or writings.

CHAPTER )

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THEORITICAL FRAME*OR+

eminist stylistic is a theory and method presented by 'ills (/00;- used for analysing

texts on the way gender is portrayed. The concept of stylistics is being described as the study of

literary texts and its language. 'ills (/00;- presented a toolkit with "uestions included in the

feminist stylistic that she argues could be of great used at any text to discover gender differences.

This model was also build from the work of other linguist such as ameron and oates as cited

by 'ills. Sexism could be analy!ed at three levels in a text> at word level, sentenceCphrases level,

and at discourse level ('ills, /00;-. or this particular study features at word level and

sentenceCphrases level have been chosen for analysing the text. This focuses on features relevant

to the study> gendered< generic words and language< used beyond the level of the word. $s

earlier mentioned, one part of 'ills (/00;- feminist stylistic analysis at the level of word. 'ills

(/00;- was on the opinion that words could only be sexist depending on the context. Thus, she

argues with the importance of analysing the text at the word< level by stating that certain word

uses reflect gender differences. The use of generic words is an evident of how men in viewed as

the norm in language at word level ('ills, /00;-. 'oving on to sentenceCphrases 5$re the words which are used gender<

specificA6, 5$re generic nouns used to refer to malesA6, 5%s the suffix D


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CHAPTER ,

Methodo"og

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This chapter describes how the study of ESL textbooks used in San $gustin %nstitute

Technology was conducted. This discussion covers research design, data collection, and data

analysis.

Re'ea-ch De'ign

The present research is exploratory in nature and "ualitative approached is employed to

get an evidence on sexism in language. This study includes sexist terms found in the textbooks,

to what extent sexism exist in ESL textbook, and the discussion about the levels of analysing a

text.

'oreover, it will be studied using the feminist stylistics to analyse the text on the way

gendered is presented. This research will lead the researchers to describe sexism in language.

Data Co""ection

The data was collected at the San $gustin %nstitute and Technology textbooks from grade

seven, eight, nine, and ten. The ESL textbooks was being analysed to find out the existence of

sexist language. This study is engage on the analysis of sexist language in ESL textbooks. $nd

four ESL textbooks were being used to fulfil this research.

Data Ana"'i'

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This paper outlines the study of a feminist stylistics which was carried out, to analy!e the

ESL textbooks. The present research enumerates the sexist terms found in the ESL textbook, and

describe to what extent sexism in the textbooks and analysing the levels of text> word


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The purpose of this chapter is to report the results of the present study involving English

as Second Language (ESL- textbooks used in San $gustin %nstitute and Technology &igh School.

The sexist terms found in the ESL textbooks are reported. %n addition, this chapter reports to

what extent sexism exist in grade seven to ten ESL textbooks and the levels of sexist language

found in the ESL textbooks. The three research "uestions investigated were>

/. @hat are the sexist terms found in the textbooksA

*. To what extent sexism exist in grade , 1, 0, and /+ English textbooksA

:. @hat are the levels of the sexist language found in the ESL textbookA

Re'u"t' fo- Re'ea-ch /ue'tion 1

To answer the first "uestion each textbooks were examined based on their context and the used of

sexist language. The sexist terms found in the textbooks are the generic terms like the most commonly

used pronoun Dhe, his, and him6 which refer to either male or female such as students, person, teacher,

etc. when a noun are used with generic reference in a single form, the traditional grammar advocates to

use the masculine pronouns in the context to be fit with the generic noun.

eneric pronouns are pronouns that are said to refer, with e"ual likelihood, to woman and men.

8ut the English language is ignoring the existence of women by allowing masculine terms to be used

specifically to refer to men and commonly to the human race in general. 7erhaps, the generic pronoun

5he6 is the most well known example of gender The speaker brings out pins from his

pockets. 5&is6 refers to the subject> the speaker. To examine speaker in a sense of gender, it is either male

or female, yet his, a masculine pronoun used as the subject3s reference covers the possibility of a female

subject. $lso, the used of the word Dman3 to refer to humanity. Fccupational nouns and job titles ending in

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Bman excluded the presence of women in such professions and positions. or example> chairman,

salesman, businessman, policeman, fireman, fisherman, etc.

Re'u"t' fo- Re'ea-ch /ue'tion )

To answer the second "uestion the books were examined thoroughly. $nd it was found out that to

some extent sexism exist in ESL textbooks for a reason that even the images portrayed are mostly male,

examples in every sentence, and even the author of other literary text male dominates. Examples given

below>

The pictures above shows despite decades of feminist consciousness-raising, sexist

language still exist in our culture. $lthough there are some examples and text in the ESL

textbooks which uses inclusive language but the masculine terms still dominates. %n the first

picture above it shows that men are usually the one who works in the farm and take good care of the animals. Fn the other hand, the women are only seated beautifully behind the men.

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Re'u"t' fo- Re'ea-ch /ue'tion ,

Se&i'# in 0o-d'

ommon forms of sexism in English include the use of GmanG and Ghe C him C hisG as

genericsHthat is, nouns and To answer the third "uestion the text is analy!ed through the use of

feminist stylistics. The levels of sexist language found in the books> at word< level, and

sentencesCphrases level. Examples provided below>

pronouns referring to both men and women.

The use of suffixes -man, -ette, -ess,


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%nstead the GmasculineG pronouns GheG, GhimG and GhisG are generally used to refer to both men and

women. This is confusing and inaccurate and, as well, makes women invisible. onsider the

following examples>

The stories used in the grade

• 5The man with the coconut6

•5Fne very hot day, when a carabao went into the river to bathe, he met a shell and they begantalking to each other.6

• 5Limbas, he has unusual strength, bravery, and swiftness.

• 5Sulayman, because of him, there was peace, prosperity, and happiness.6

• 5The men of the olden $ge, the subjects of ronus, were greatly loved by the ods.6

• The souls in )asanaan were kept by the chief deity named Sitan.

%n example /, the title of the story itself only used 5man6 and in the body of the story the

women were not even mentioned. Example * used 5he” as a pronoun to the carabao, but study

says that an animal is referred as 5it6 unless the relationship is personal


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%n rade /+ textbooks, there are also stories that women are dominated but there is

discrimination in each story like>

/- She went to her mother and asked how she could put a stop to this unfatherly behaviour. (The

@ar in &eaven-*- She was responsible for the occurrence of diseases. (Iivinities of the Lower @orld-

:- She was the oddess of broken homes. (Iivinities of the Lower @orld-

2- She could kill anyone by simply raising her hand. ((Iivinities of the Lower @orld-

%n English language in grade and 1 textbooks, there are many words, which are clearly

male

Fisherman Salesman

Congressman Councilman Newsman Foreman

Freshman oliceman

Sexism in language is also showed in that the noun of feminine gender can only be

obtained by adding a certain bound morpheme to the noun. or example>

man woman waiter waitress filipino filipina god goddess author authoress

Some English words, especially the name of some professions, are basically of common

gender, namely, they can be applied to both sexes. &owever, people usually will habitually

associate them only with male. onse"uently, we have to add 5woman6 before those names if we

want to refer to female of those professions. or example>

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COMMON ENDER FEMALE

!octor woman doctor

rofessor woman professor "ngineer woman engineer

Senator girl senator

Fne tendency involves words that are clearly restricted in reference to one sex or the

other, with female words tending to have less favourable meanings.

%n the grade 1 book there is the dominant use of a classic pair master and mistress ('r.

and 'rs.-, but if we go beyond the meaning of it, it shows that the male meaning is Dgood3 and

the female is Dbad3? specifically, a mistress but not a master is a partner for extra

/. The word “professional 6 refers to a person "ualified or employed in one of the professions.

@hen we say “he is a professional”, he may be thought to be a boxer, whereas when we say

“she is a professional”, she is likely a prostitute.

*. The word “master” means “host” while the feminine word “mistress” has the surfacemeaning “hostess”# 8ut actually its connotative meaning is 5lover6, 5woman who depends onman6. 5&e grew tired of his wife and went out for a mistress6. &ere we will sure know that

“mistress” cannot be his wife.

$# The word “governor” refers to “a person appointed to govern a province or state”, whereas the

word “governess” just means 5nurse maid”#

Se&i'# in 'entence'2!h-a'e'

7roverbs are certain condensation of one language. Therefore the sexism can be reflected

perfectly in proverbs. %n an English proverb, “%e who follows his wife&s advice will never see the

face of god#” @e can clearly feel the wicked underlines by which men stretch their prejudice

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towards women. or the grade 0 textbook, 7roverbs are usually used and we have seen sexism in

its language and we have something even worse, like>

'(# )ll world is a stage and all men are merel* pla*ers#

+(# There are the times that tr* mens souls# The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, inthis crisis, shrin from the service of their countr*. but he that stands b* it now, deserves the love

and thans of man and woman#

/(# 0nto the hands of ever* individual is given a marvellous power for good or for evil1the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life# This is simpl* the constant radiation of what

man reall* is, not what he pretends to be#

$(# Seven women in their right senses are surpassed b* a mad man#

2(# %e to whom the present is the onl* thing that is present nows nothing of the age in which helives#

4ot only in English, but also in many other languages, men are the most used characters

in most proverbs. $fghan jokes and folklore are blatantly sexist, such as this proverb> D%f you see

an old man, sit down and take a lesson? if you see an old woman, throw a stone.3

or the rade /+ textbooks, a number of sentences have sexism in its language like>

/- 'ythology shows the creativity and imagination of man.

*- Since the beginning of the year, we have experienced many events that seem to corroborate with

man3s beliefs on od3s and oddesses.

:- The ancient Tagalogs believed in the final judgment of men.2- &e shall become the chief of the tribe.

;- 4ow that their parents are gone, the 7ere! brothers shall take over the family business.

J- The rench exchange student bid his classmates adieu after the semester.- 'en usually give corsage to their partner on formal dates.

1- 'r. &enry is one of the most successful ilipino entrepreneurs.

0- Kames 8ond is an expert in espionage.

CHAPTER 3

Su##a-4 Conc"u'ion4 and Reco##endation

Su##a- 5 Conc"u'ion

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%n this study, the research aimed to investigate the existence of sexist language in ESL

textbooks. Specifically the study aimed to> enumerate the sexist terms found in the ESL

textbooks? describe to what extent sexism exist in the textbooks? and to know what are the levels

of sexism found in the ESL textbooks.

$ll in all, sexist language can greatly influence human3s thoughts, behaviours, andattitudes in society. Therefore, to eliminate the sexist language, we should above all eliminate theconcept of prejudice in human beings thoughts. Fnly by this way can we be free of sexism both

in language and the society forever.

Reco##endation'

Since this study focuses only on the existence of sexist language in the textbooks, further

study can be conducted to find out other factors about sexism in language and the implications of

language towards the individual.

This study employs "ualitative approach, further study can be conducted through the use

of "uantitative approached to further explain and discussed the existence of sexist language. The

authors, readers, teachers, etc. should be sensitive in the used of sexist language and to start

using the inclusive language (non


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Shams, '. (*++1-.Students3 attitudes motivation and anxiety towards English language

learning. Kournal of #esearch, *(*-,/*/ the role of attitude

and motivation. London> Edward $rnold.

akeye, I. (*+/+-. Students3 7ersonal Nariables as orrelates of $cademic $chievement

in English as a Second Language in 4igeria. 3ournal of Social Sciences, **(:-, *+;CCwww.languageinindia.comCmay*++:Cannika.html

Koseba, '. (*++;-, Student engineers, ES7 courses, and testing with clo!e tests. "S

6orld#+(/+-.

Sidek, S., #amachandran, S., 9#amakrishan, #. (*++J-. rom students to students>

adapting technical reports as classroom materials. %n 'ukundan, K. (Ed- Focus on "5T materials>

(pp. /;* 7earson 'alaysia Sdn. 8hd.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0346-251X(95)00010-Hhttp://www.languageinindia.com/may2003/annika.htmlhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0346-251X(95)00010-Hhttp://www.languageinindia.com/may2003/annika.html


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*OR+ PLAN SCHEDULE

MISSION DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH

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1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Proposal X

Write a letter X

Interview X

Observation X

Survey X

o!pilation X

"naly#in$

%ata&Statisti'al (reat!ent

X

)esult&on'lusi

on

X

)e'o!!en*ati

on

X

+inal %e,ense X

CURRRICULUM 6ITAE

Na#e7 8aluarte, Epher $.

Deg-ee7 8achelor of Secondary Education 'ajor in English

BIORAPHICAL S+ETCH

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Bi-th Date7 Fctober :/, /00J

Bi-th P"ace7 8ocboc, Ion arlos

Pa-ent'7 'rs. 9 'r. Eusebio N. 8aluarte

Ho#e Add-e''7 San 4icholas, Ion arlos

EDUCATIONAL BAC+ROUND

E"e#enta-7 Ion arlos entral Elementary SchoolSeconda-7 4ew 4ongnongan 4ational &igh School


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SEMINARS AND TRAININS

• 7oetry Seminar (*+/; 9 *+/J-

• @riting an $nalysis 7aper

• 7ublic Speaking

• Futcome 8ased< $pproach

• $IIO and OSE7 Seminar

CURRRICULUM 6ITAE

Na#e7 7adre


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Te-tia-7 entral 'indanao Oniversity

E8TRA9 CURRICULAR ACTI6ITIES

Me#:e-7 ircle of Iynamic English Students

SEMINARS AND TRAININS

• 7oetry Seminar (*+/; 9 *+/J-

• @riting an $nalysis 7aper • 7ublic Speaking

• Futcome 8ased< $pproach

• ender Sensitivity Training

• $IIO and OSE7 Seminar

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