The Public View of Language and Gender

Abstract

This chapter considers the discrepancy between public representations of male and female speech and the findings of language and gender research. Several high-profile language and gender stories discussed in the popular press are compared to the scholarly studies on which they are based. Three online corpora are also examined to assess the overall level of media attention given to the topics “gender” and “gender/sex difference.” The analysis reveals that, while the amount of media coverage given to these topics increased from 2000 to 2010, the reliability and quality of the news about scholarly work on gender did not improve; further, media reports began incorporating into discussions of male–female difference questionable findings about sex difference from brain science research. The study concludes that public discussions fail to capture contemporary work on language and gender, a field that increasingly criticizes using male–female “difference” as a starting point and instead focuses on the diversity of people's gendered practices.

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