Ambassadors of gender equality? How use of pair forms versus masculines as generics impacts perception of the speaker

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc

E-ISSN: 1099-0992|42|6|754-762

ISSN: 0046-2772

Source: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Vol.42, Iss.6, 2012-10, pp. : 754-762

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

AbstractAlthough the use of gender fair language is strongly promoted in German‐speaking countries, the impact of its use on the way speakers are perceived by others is still unknown. Results of two experimental studies showed that irrespective of their sex, speakers using pair forms rather than generic masculines were perceived more competent by both men and women. Also, they were seen as less sexist by male and female listeners with positive attitudes towards linguistic equality. Findings with respect to the attribution of warmth were more complex: they were not only impacted by language use, but also dependent on speaker's sex and listener's attitude towards linguistic equality. Results are discussed in the context of language and stereotypes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.