The sexist translator and the feminist heroine

Abstract

Political correctness can be seen as an attempt to extend the boundaries of what is considered taboo by including areas which previously involved prejudicial attitudes and stigmatising language (Hughes 2007). It is perhaps symptomatic that television series are notable for their politically incorrect language, especially in relation to the verbal and nonverbal treatment of women characters. Series set in the pre-1990s – prior to the conceptualization of political correctness – rely for their humorous quips and effective characterizations on sexist language. However, these often sophisticated audiovisual products complicate researchers’ readings, by featuring strong and independent (‘modern’) female characters in key roles. This chapter looks at examples from TV series set in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s in order to analyze the linguistic and narrative strategies that make potentially highly offensive language against women not only palatable but actually relishable to contemporary ears. Secondly, this study analyzes the strategies implemented by translators and adapters for the Italian dubbed versions (and, if relevant, for the subtitled ones) in order to evaluate whether the cultural and temporal distance of these types of stories and characters has influenced the translation process, especially when handling the sexist and derogatory language used at the expense of women.