Gender, Language and Discourse

Description

Is language sexist? Do women and men speak different languages? Gender, Language and Discourse uniquely examines the contribution that psychological research - in particular, discursive psychology - has made to answering these questions. Until now, books on gender and language have tended to be from the sociolinguistic perspective and have focused on one of two issues - sexism in language or gender differences in speech. This book considers both issues and develops the idea that they shouldn't be viewed as mutually exclusive endeavours but rather as part of the same process - the social construction of gender. Ann Weatherall highlights the fresh insights that a social constructionist approach has made to these debates, and presents recent theoretical developments and empirical work in discursive psychology relevant to gender and language. Gender, Language and Discourse provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of the gender and language field from a psychological perspective. It will be invaluable to students and researchers in social psychology, cultural studies, education, linguistic anthropology and women's studies.

Ann Weatherall is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. Her research interests are in the areas of feminist and discursive social psychology, gender and language and social psychology and her previous work has been published in various scholarly journals.

Weatherall writes with a passion for her subject that engages the reader. The book provides an extraordinarily user-friendly account of the relationships between biology and discourse that make an invaluable contribution to psychology and gender scholarship. - Paula Nicolson, Reader in Health Psychology, ScHARR, University of Sheffield This is a valuable text that is very detailed and thorough in its review of the multi-disciplinary study of gender and language and the contribution of psychology. By incorporating a feminist discursive approach, Weatherall shows directions for the study of gender and language to move forward and the challenges that face it. - Precilla Choi, Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University