Role of Sexism and Gender Stereotyping on Male Default Language Use.

Abstract

Gender bias in default language—utilizing masculine generic words for persons whose sex is unknown—is an implicit cue to long-standing and deeply held views about gender roles. Past research has demonstrated that male generics routinely elicit mental images of men and support androcentric perspectives regardless of language used. This study investigated whether acceptance of gender stereotypes, hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism predicted use of masculine generic words by Indian youth. A sample of cross-sectional subjects completed a pronoun-choice task, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI), and the Gender Stereotype Scale; each measure was reliable. The correlations found that both increased levels of acceptance of gender stereotypes and benevolent sexism correlated with increased reliance on male generics; however, the correlation with hostile sexism was lessened. The regression results indicated that acceptance of gender stereotypes and benevolent sexism were the two most significant predictors of the use of masculine generics; furthermore, males relied upon masculine generics more so than did females. These results demonstrate the manner in which even subtle sexist orientations can foster and continue gender biased language, and therefore, there is a clear need for gender inclusivity and interventions.