When There is No He/She: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Genderless Language Use and Its Impact on Gender Ideology

Journal of Language and Social Psychology • Vol/Iss. 44(5) • Sage Journals • • Published In • Pages: 623-681 •
By Tanabe, Megumi, Tun, Lily, Vaseiezadeh, Nasim, Dogan, Imge

Abstract

It has long been understood that gendered languages favor a male-female dichotomy and that language may subconsciously influence symbolic interactions and larger cultural patterns. This cross-cultural study examines gender in language with the individual's perception of aspects of gender equality, claiming that a linguistic approach is necessary for conceptualizing gender views in a global context. While most measures of gender ideology showed no statistically significant relationships with genderless language use and exposure, there was differential support across language subgroups (African/Islamic, Latin America, Orthodox Europe, West and South Asia) for some of the hypothesized relationships between genderless language use and exposure and gender ideology.
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: hattie.berke