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Men discuss terminology specific to women in different ways, depending on how they identify. 

By Angela Shah
Course: Language in US Society (Ling 1000)
Advisor: GPTI Maureen Kosse; TA Irina Wagner
LURA 2018

This was a central finding of the research project I developed for the course Language in US Society (Ling 1000). I analyzed how cisgender men from varied racial backgrounds respond to a set of questions focused on women-specific terminology. The topic was interesting to pursue as I have noted different reactions to this kind of terminology in my everyday life, whether in casual conversations or provoked discussions. This is especially seen in the use of vernacular expressions and body language. 

My project was inspired by work done by sociolinguist Scott Kiesling, currently at the University of Pittsburgh, regarding gendered language by men in certain social settings, such as fraternity parties. My study was especially concerned with how men located within a heavily heteronormative, cis-society discuss terminology associated with their (binary) counterpart. I interviewed eight different men of varying ages and races: Four identified as Caucasian and four as men of color. Each of the men answered a questionnaire I prepared, with questions ranging from how they defined the term woman and female to their comfort level in saying terms such as pussy and vagina. The men also had the opportunity to answer fill-in-the-blank questions, which gave them the chance to express their own answers. 

My analysis considered the answers themselves as well as various other elements in how participants communicated with me regarding each of the questions. I made a series of graphs that compared how the men responded to the questions. I noted the body language of each of the participants (ex. one of the subjects shifted in their chair and looked away when asked how comfortable they were with the word pussy). I observed which terms were used in specific contexts (ex. a subject used the word pussy in the fill-in-the-blank question ‘Yo, you’re being such a _____’). I noted how certain words were voiced (ex. a subject tended to get quieter when saying the word vagina but louder when saying pussy). Finally, I observed how the word in question was pronounced (ex. subjects would have vocal ramping when saying certain words, such as clitoris).Ìý

With this information, I was able to determine, among other things, the men’s comfort level with respect to women-centric terminology, as seen in the graph below. This graph reveals racial differences in how participants approached the terms pussy and vagina.

Overall, my project was not able to prove significance due to the small sample size, but the study nevertheless suggested possible differences in how men of different backgrounds might speak about the various terms. 

This study ultimately addressed the importance of why language matters and how our current language tends to dehumanize those who identify as female or women, when this identification should in fact empower them. For instance, after the study was over, a few of the men stated how odd it seemed that so many of these women-centric terms were used as insults (ex. pussy is used synonymously with ‘weak’).Ìý

The project and overall experiment could be modified in a variety of ways in order to ensure there is no bias. A major flaw in my study may arise from the fact that I personally knew all of these men, and this could have caused them to alter their answers despite being prompted to be as truthful as possible. In the future, I would like to reach out to a larger sample as well as include a more detailed, personal interview with each of the subjects. This would help me gain a better idea of the participant’s backgrounds, as I was often unaware of aspects of identity such as socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and regional identity. This information would help build a better understanding of how each participant was socialized and whether this socialization had any influence on reactions to women-centric terminology.