body language

[Kenneth Hyde]

Amy Sheldon wrote:
 
> I see your point.
> But within the current gender system, the critique would be "Any
> Lesbian is not a real woman".

But that is not an issue of language.  Whatever label may be used (even a
new one that we coin to avoid any previous connotations or attachments of
unwanted meaning) is going to run smack into the brickwall of reality.  If
people think that a lesbian is not a real woman, they will think the same
thing whatever she may be called.

In any event, I don't think "masculine woman" implies that the person in
question is lesbian (or however you prefer to refer to the category).  My
understanding of "masculine woman" as a term is a woman who, consciously or
subconsciously, presents herself in a "masculine" way.  I.e., she positions
herself in the masculine zone of the collective gender-space of her
community.  Now, the question that obviously presents itself at this point
is whether this phenomenon is the one that the original writer intended to
communicate.  If it is, then her use of the term "masculine woman" was
correct.  If she meant to communicate something else entirely, then the term
was ill-chosen.

> I'm making a point about how the logic of standard gender ideology
> positions women who are labeled "masculine" or Lesbian".

We could, of course, debate the rather tricky mythology of "standard gender
ideology."  As far as I know, this has never been defined in any scientific
way and, rather like "Standard American English" (or any other politically
convenient standard), probably does not exist.  Just based on preliminary
observation, I would be more likely to entertain a hypothesis that gender
ideology varies greatly from community to community (leaving wide open the
question of how to define community).  While we might expect to see central
tendency emerge from a study of the various ideologies, I feel strongly that
labeling those generalizations "standard" would be the wrong approach to
scientific research.

Anyway, I'll stop now.  But, how refreshing to find such interesting and
thought-provoking discussions on this list.  I hope this is a trend.

Ken


Kenneth Allen Hyde
Coordinator, ELI Tutoring Center
Instructor, ELI and Dept. of Linguistics
University of Delaware
(302) 831-2567
kenny at udel.edu



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