Mapping trajectories of change – women’s and men’s practices and experiences of feminist linguistic reform in Australia

Abstract

In this paper we address the issue of the evaluation of feminist language planning in Australia. Through case studies of some self-identified linguistic reformers and non-sexist language users we present a ‘trajectory’ framework for the exploration of evaluation as part of the language planning cycle. We map the users’ trajectories of change through documenting their ‘first contact’ with gender bias in language (an initiating trajectory), their responses, practices and actions in relation to this (a trajectory of practice) and their perceived roles in bringing about, facilitating and spreading change (a trajectory of agency). This documentation reveals narratives of resistance and empowerment through engagement with change in the context of dominant discourses but sometimes also of powerlessness and oppression through rejection and opposition. The outcomes of this analysis suggest multiple and complex interpretations and iterations of feminist linguistic reform evidenced through the mapping of trajectories.