Are Foreign Language Textbooks Sexist? An Exploration of Mobes of Evaluation

Abstract

This paper discusses nonsexist guidelines that have been established by publishing houses and some preliminary research on sexism in educational materials. Research (the data are 20 studies conducted between 1975 a.nd 1984) on sexism in foreign language (FL) textbooks is then reviewed and critically compared. It is argued that the relatively sparse and dissimilar body of research identifying and assessing gender role portrayal in FL textbooks underscores the need for more analyses. The unsystematic nature of the research on sexual bias demonstrates the need for a standardized evaluative instrument, so that a data base of similarly analyzed FL textbooks can thus be generated.