Call for help

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Dear GALA-Member
 
My name is Felicia Kreiselamier and I am a student at the University of
Berne in Switzerland. Over the past four and a half years I have been
studying English linguistics as a major, media studies as a first minor and
cultural and social anthropology as a second minor. I have graduated in both
media studies and anthropology, and am now left with English Linguistics,
which I intend to graduate in by April 2006. Within the course of my study
plan it is required to write an 80 to 100-page thesis similar to a masters
thesis in the major.
 
Within my thesis, I am interested in how language in use in communities of
practice can effect our perception of gender performativity and identity and
can lead to a defined and normatively regulated gender performance. I am
trying to illustrate how we „do“ gender with the help of clichés and
stereotypes uttered randomly by individuals in everyday conversation, songs,
media, etc.
 
When reading and researching into the literature on language and gender I
found it very difficult to find material dealing with language and gender in
the way that I intend to do. I found heaps of literature dealing with
male/female talk, conversation tactics/behaviour, gendered structures in
language, etc. I don’t want to deal with ‘gendered language, i.e. how men
talk differs from women talk but how language “paints” gender images, how
its use and not behaviour influences gender practices. I am interested as
language as the means of expressing social practice through discourse. I aim
to understand and explain the complexity and intercontextuality of language
and gender in social communities of practice.

In search for advice on recent studies, research done in the area of
language and gender, I decided to turn to you. If you could give me any
hints, clues, references as to where I could find recent studies and
publications dealing with language and gender.
 
Thank you very much for your time and help.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Best Wishes

Felicia Kreiselmaier