Page 114 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 5-6: Teaching Feminism, ed. Valerija Vendramin
P. 114
šolsko polje, letnik xxxi, številka 5–6
authors. Gender-neutral discourse will thus play a crucial role in structur-
ing the fields of literary studies and education in the future, including the
reform of the (national) literary canon. These fields may – for now – be
free from the imminent threat of “feminisation”, but in order to achieve
a more gender-balanced representation of literary knowledge they should
develop a certain “feminist awareness”; as we know, the creation of gender
stereotypes in society is also the result of a “/…/ single-sex perception of lit-
erature and thus of writing. Such selective exposure to literature can im-
pair adolescents’ ability to make critical judgements ... For example, teen-
age girls are forced to identify with male protagonists, which then carries
over into real life ...” (Repar, 2015).
As the representation of women authors in teaching materials is a
broad and complex topic, and has therefore been addressed independent-
ly, it will not be the focus of the present article (cf. e.g. Mihurko Poniž,
2019; Vendramin, 2018).
Language Resources and Lexicographic Discourse
Various language resources (dictionaries, grammars, encyclopaedias, etc.)
are an important repository of social meaning, although by no means the
only one. For example, Gorjanc (2005, 2012, 2017) studied how stereo-
types and prejudices about social groups are encoded in Slovenian lexi-
cographic discourse. Dictionaries reflect social values not in the way they
are practised, but “on the basis of the current social ideal” (Béjoint, 2000,
p. 124, in Gorjanc, 2005, p. 199). In fact, every dictionary is influenced
by an ideology, as it reflects social values and introduces the view of the
most influential social group in terms of stigmatising and/or discrim-
inating vulnerable groups (e.g. women, homosexuals, immigrants, etc.),
which can be indirectly (stereotypes) or directly (insults, swear words) of-
fensive. Furthermore, stereotypes “can lead to offensive references in re-
lation to a particular social group” (Gorjanc, 2005, p. 199), with a focus
on women in the present article. While definitions and usage examples
can serve to identify explicit and, in particular, covert ideologies (ibid., p.
200), it is this covert nature that is at stake in modern practices of address-
ing and talking about women, because directly expressing one’s ideolo-
gy or even insulting this particular group is no longer socially acceptable.
Gorjanc notes that many directly offensive terms or “negative emotive la-
bels” for women appear in the Dictionary of Standard Slovenian (SSKJ)
and even more so in the Slovenian Normative Guide (SP 2001) (e.g. babišče
(Eng. old bag), gobezdulja (Eng. loudmouth), debeluharica (Eng. fatso)),
while also finding some examples of covert sexism (bejba (Eng. chick),
etc). The use of these terms is often mislabelled, indicating a lack of social
112
authors. Gender-neutral discourse will thus play a crucial role in structur-
ing the fields of literary studies and education in the future, including the
reform of the (national) literary canon. These fields may – for now – be
free from the imminent threat of “feminisation”, but in order to achieve
a more gender-balanced representation of literary knowledge they should
develop a certain “feminist awareness”; as we know, the creation of gender
stereotypes in society is also the result of a “/…/ single-sex perception of lit-
erature and thus of writing. Such selective exposure to literature can im-
pair adolescents’ ability to make critical judgements ... For example, teen-
age girls are forced to identify with male protagonists, which then carries
over into real life ...” (Repar, 2015).
As the representation of women authors in teaching materials is a
broad and complex topic, and has therefore been addressed independent-
ly, it will not be the focus of the present article (cf. e.g. Mihurko Poniž,
2019; Vendramin, 2018).
Language Resources and Lexicographic Discourse
Various language resources (dictionaries, grammars, encyclopaedias, etc.)
are an important repository of social meaning, although by no means the
only one. For example, Gorjanc (2005, 2012, 2017) studied how stereo-
types and prejudices about social groups are encoded in Slovenian lexi-
cographic discourse. Dictionaries reflect social values not in the way they
are practised, but “on the basis of the current social ideal” (Béjoint, 2000,
p. 124, in Gorjanc, 2005, p. 199). In fact, every dictionary is influenced
by an ideology, as it reflects social values and introduces the view of the
most influential social group in terms of stigmatising and/or discrim-
inating vulnerable groups (e.g. women, homosexuals, immigrants, etc.),
which can be indirectly (stereotypes) or directly (insults, swear words) of-
fensive. Furthermore, stereotypes “can lead to offensive references in re-
lation to a particular social group” (Gorjanc, 2005, p. 199), with a focus
on women in the present article. While definitions and usage examples
can serve to identify explicit and, in particular, covert ideologies (ibid., p.
200), it is this covert nature that is at stake in modern practices of address-
ing and talking about women, because directly expressing one’s ideolo-
gy or even insulting this particular group is no longer socially acceptable.
Gorjanc notes that many directly offensive terms or “negative emotive la-
bels” for women appear in the Dictionary of Standard Slovenian (SSKJ)
and even more so in the Slovenian Normative Guide (SP 2001) (e.g. babišče
(Eng. old bag), gobezdulja (Eng. loudmouth), debeluharica (Eng. fatso)),
while also finding some examples of covert sexism (bejba (Eng. chick),
etc). The use of these terms is often mislabelled, indicating a lack of social
112
