Semantic derogation

Muriel Schultz (1975)

Schultz documents a process of ‘semantic derogation’ affecting sexual terms when applied to women. This means that sexual words tend to carry a heavy weight of moral opprobrium (disapproval). Sexual terms are sometimes the best arena for moral opprobrium, sexism and patriarchal/male resistance to the redefinition of sexual roles. There are no boundaries and no limits to the proliferation of sexual stories – and indeed, all activities, discourse and technologies are veritably sexualised.

Deborah Cameron (1990)

Deborah Cameron says that wherever and whenever the matter has been investigated, men and women face normative expectations about the appropriate mode of speech for their gender. Women's verbal conduct is important in many cultures; women have been instructed in the proper ways of talking just as they have been instructed in the proper ways of dressing, in the use of cosmetics, and in other “feminine” kinds of behaviour. This acceptance of a “proper” speech style, Cameron describes (in her 1995 book of the same name) as “verbal hygiene”.

Cameron does not condemn verbal hygiene, as misguided. She finds specific examples of verbal hygiene in the regulation of '"style" by editors, the teaching of English grammar in schools, politically correct language and the advice to women on how they can speak more effectively. In each case Deborah Cameron claims that verbal hygiene is a way to make sense of language, and that it also represents a symbolic attempt to impose order on the social world.

Sara mills (1995)

She researched into:

• The use of ‘he’ as a generic pronoun.

• The sexual bias of ‘man’ nouns: e.g. postman, chairman.

• Different terms to distinguish between female and male versions, often with negative connotations for the females: e.g. bachelor/spinster, master/mistress

• Terms without a female equivalent: e.g. single woman, career woman

• Offensive terms for an unattractive woman e.g. crone, bag, frump.

I discovered that there are more words for a sexually promiscuous female than a sexually promiscuous male. Words for females included: slag, slut, sket, skank, whore, hoe. Words for males includes: fuckboy, player, lad.

Words for females are all negative whereas some of the words for boys can be seen as positive. I asked around to see what other people thought and the results were the same - that there are more negative words for women than men.