The Legitimization of Gender Bias in Selected English Proverbs

Abstract

The study of language and gender reveals how language works as a symbolic tool to construct and preserve personal, social, and cultural aspects and identities, going beyond merely documenting the distinctions between men's and women's linguistic patterns. Thus, it is better to tackle proverbs as data for being loaded with important themes, mainly, gender inequality and prejudiced views.The paper is achieved from the thesis of Ideologies behind Gender Bias in Selected English and Arabic Proverbs: A Pragma-Critical Discourse Analysis, as a requirement to be proposed to the Examining Committee.The study attempts to examine sexist proverbs pragmatically to prove the legitimation of the ideological aspects of gender bias in terms of speech act. This leads to a major aim the study sets in advance, which is to refute the concept of gender neutrality.The research hypothesizes: 1. Proverbs are performative speech acts. Proverbial speech acts both constitute and instigate gender discrimination. 2. Gender bias is legitimized in the proverbial discourse that blocks the way towards gender neutrality.The analysis concludes: (1) Proverbs provide insight into gender dynamics in terms of locutions and lexical triggers (father, mother, etc.). Proverbs are discriminatory speech acts in which hate, and discrimination are promoted and instigated by the social and traditional authorities. (2) Gender bias and the ideologies behind it are legitimized in proverbs by the social authority like, the personal and model authority of father; and the traditionality where it is generally not opposed.