Open AccessTheorizing Gender in Language and Gender Studies: A Reflection on Some Conceptualizations of Gender
Author(s) -
Mika’il Ibrahim,
Umar Saeed
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
cross-currents
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2394-451X
DOI - 10.36344/ccijhss.2018.v04i06.002
Subject(s) - gender psychology , language and gender , social constructionism , gender studies , strict constructionism , sociology , gender schema theory , gender history , doing gender , gender identity , object (grammar) , psychology , epistemology , reflection (computer programming) , social psychology , linguistics , social science , computer science , philosophy , programming language
Gender was introduced as an object of study mainly by feminist researchers in the and 60s and 70s and since then, several works have offered, in varying degrees, insight into the concept of gender and the complex relationship it is assumed to have with language. In this paper, we examine some conceptualizations of gender, highlighting their major postulations, criticisms against them and their major contributions to research on language and gender. After reviewing the different theoretical perspectives on gender, we align with the social constructionist viewpoint because it offers a more productive way of viewing of, and analyzing gender than other approaches.