GENDER IDENTITY IN MIKE ROSS’S TRIAL IN THE AMERICAN TV SERIES THE SUITS

Abstract

Existing literature has provided a firm dichotomy between language differentials between the male and female gender. Regardless of different contexts and discourse types, these language differences tend to persist. In courtroom discourse, the linguistic constructions of female legal practitioners are loosely regarded as ‘powerless language’ characterized with polite constructions, hesitations, and hedges which is in firm contrast with their male counterparts who tend to be more definite in their linguistic constructions. The present study tends to examine how performed court discourse challenges this narrative. Using selected courtroom scenes of Mike Ross trial in the American TV show the suits, the study notes that while female legal practitioners use these ‘powerless’ linguistic patterns in the court interaction not as a demonstration of inferior or subordinate status to their male counterparts but dexterously deployed to achieve intended outcomes.