The 4th issue of the IGALAblog is out
Welcome to the 4th issue of the Igala blog! One year has passed from the first issue and we are delighted to see that the blog is growing as a platform where people from the academic world share their research and their experience in relation to language, gender and sexuality! We hope that you will keep submitting your posts. This issue is dedicated to sexism and sexist language. As this is the topic my research focuses on (direct and indirect sexism in Italian), I have parti
IGALA 9: The Best Graduate Paper Prize Winner tells us her experience.
Several months have passed since IGALA 9 and I have had time to reflect on the events and experiences that were packed into four days at City University of Hong Kong. This was my first time attending an IGALA conference, as well as my first time traveling to Hong Kong. I loved the welcoming environment of the conference and the people that I met. I am already looking forward to IGALA 10. I feel very lucky to have attended IGALA 9. As a student, I wasn’t sure that I would be a
Sexist Language – But Sexist against Whom?
Sexist language and the discussion revolving around it has interested me for a number of years now; it is also closely related to my own research on 3rd person singular pronouns. However, after becoming aware of a wider spectrum of gender than ‘men and women’, I began reading read sexist language discussions from a more critical point of view. The question of what sexist language is changes when we abandon the idea of gender binarism. I conducted a search on EBSCOhost for ‘se
Language and gender in British comedy: some insights from Mock the Week
Television comedy panel shows are a staple of British television and a major part of the UK’s creative industry. The format usually involves four to six comedians answering questions in teams about current affairs, music, sports, politics, history (although each panel show usually has a specific theme around which the show focuses). Many different types of panel show now exist, including Have I Got News for You, QI, Celebrity Juice, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Shooting Stars and countl
Mademoiselle: crinoline and swings, promises and spring roses?
A few years ago a student of mine was complaining about a grade I had given him, and in the course of the conversation he referred to me as Mademoiselle [Miss], which immediately made me wince. I live in France, where teachers at all levels are addressed as Madame [Mrs/Ms] or Monsieur [Mr] (but never Mademoiselle). As well as being linked to marital status, a woman’s age and hierarchical status in the exchange come into question. Therefore, I understood the student’s use of M
