Gender in the English Language Classroom

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Gender in the English Language Classroom

A comparative study of gender portrayals in textbooks for the course

English 6 in the Swedish upper secondary school

Author: Josefin Willman

Supervisor: Ibolya Maricic Examiner: Marie Källkvist Term: Autumn 2020

Subject: English Educational Linguistics Level: Bachelor’s Thesis

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Abstract

This study aims to explore how textbooks aiming at the course English 6 in the Swedish upper secondary school display male, female and transgendered characters in fictional texts. The study also seeks to investigate what genders are represented in the authors of the analysed fictional texts in the textbooks. The method of the study was a mix between critical discourse analysis and content analysis. Content analysis was used in a quantitative way as a starting point to get an overview of the results for the critical discourse analysis which was used qualitatively. The study showed that authors identifying as male were the most common and represented at a higher rate in the textbooks. Among the results it was also shown that transgendered characters and authors identifying as something else than male or female were not represented at all. The study’s conclusion is that teachers will need to provide a greater variety to their classrooms than what is provided by the textbooks in terms of gender related issues and questions, since students should be given a variety of texts and authors during their English education according to the syllabus (Natl. Ag. f. Ed. 2013).

Key words

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1. Introduction

Gender is based on the socially constructed differences between masculine and feminine characteristics (Holmes 2007:2-3). Stereotypes about how people should act depending on their gender are constantly noticeable in today’s society. In many cultures, men are viewed as the norm in society, while women are viewed as the subordinated sex (Hirdman 2002:59). Society constantly shapes men and women from a young age to become what is socially accepted in terms of gender and identity. Men should behave with more masculine characteristics, and women should behave with more feminine characteristics. A transgendered man should however be feminine. Therefore, transgendered people should act as the opposite of their biological sex. In many cultures and societies, people who do not fit into the gender stereotypes of society will most likely be viewed as outcasts (Livia 2003:153).

In the curriculum for upper secondary school in Sweden, all students are viewed as equal. The curriculum states that education should strive towards all humans’ equal rights and worth. Education should develop the students’ understanding towards other people. No one should be discriminated because of their sexual identity (Natl. Ag. f. Ed. 2018). Textbooks and literature used in the classroom give the students access to different views and perspectives of the world, since the textbooks give examples of these. Through these perspectives and views, the students will get the opportunity to develop their own perspectives of the world (Johansson & Staberg 2010:8).

Textbooks allow access to different information for both students and teachers. The way textbooks present social norms, values and behaviour gives readers ideas of how the social world should be. Textbooks are central when learning about gender and how people should act depending on their gender. It is therefore important that textbooks used in education allow a variety of interpretations and presentations of social issues (Brugeilles & Cromer 2009:15, 27).

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study relevant and benefit from the findings, since the findings will reveal if the students are given a diversity of gender portrayals in textbooks or if the teacher needs to add additional material to the education.

1.1 Aim and Research Questions

The aim of this thesis is to explore how textbooks for the course English 6 in the Swedish upper secondary school display gender in fictional texts. To meet this aim four research questions are posed:

- What genders are represented among the authors of fictional texts included in the textbooks?

- How are the female characters portrayed in terms of gender stereotypes in the fictional texts?

- How are the male characters portrayed in terms of gender stereotypes in the fictional texts?

- How are the transgendered characters portrayed, if at all, in the fictional texts?

2. Theoretical Background and Previous Research

The following section gives an overview of the investigated field. Firstly, gender and sex are discussed with focus on male, female and transgendered identities. Secondly, the syllabus and textbooks are discussed.

2.1 Gender vs Sex

Since the 1970s, sex and gender have been separated as two different concepts. Sex refers to the biological differences between men and women. It is therefore seen as anatomical and based on the potential of reproduction. Gender on the other hand is not what one is born with, but what one does and becomes. It is a social construction created by society and makes one feminine or masculine (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:10; Holmes 2007:2-3).

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gender and sex where the social interacts with the biological. The biological aspect then

becomes more flexible than before. Instead of focusing on what the gender differences are, Holmes and Meyerhoff (2003:24) argue that focus should be on the differences that gender makes.

When referring to gender, stereotypes of male and female behaviour are focused on. Talbot (2003:468) refers to stereotypes as a way of interpreting someone’s behaviour and personality in terms of common beliefs about attributes set for men or women. Stereotypes also tend to exaggerate set attributes and make them more than they need to be (Talbot 2003:468, 471). Talbot (2003:472) states that stereotypes often refer to expectations of behaviour that are normally unstated and not specifically told. The study’s analysis of male and female behaviour will therefore be based on the idea of gender stereotypes as common beliefs about set attributes for men and women in society.

2.1.1 Man as the Norm

Men are seen as the norm in society. Hirdman (2003:59) claims that when man is seen as the norm, sex is not a part of that definition. Man is instead a wider definition used to compare female and male attributes and giving them status. Women are constantly being compared to men, but men are not constantly being compared to women (Hirdman 2003:59). When searching the word man in the Oxford English Dictionary, the first entry states that the word describes a human being regardless of age or sex (Oxford English Dictionary 2020a). Man is therefore seen as a neutral definition, synonymous with human being. Since men are seen as the norm in society, men can themselves set up rules that cater to their own interest, language being one way of steering society (Cameron 1992:159).

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subordination of women and superiority of men (Cameron 1992:186). Women are therefore seen as subordinated to men in society (Holmes 2007:3).

2.1.2 Women’s Language

Since the 1970s, gender stereotypes have changed very little. Beliefs about feminine and masculine language have stayed the same (Weatherall & Gallois 2003:489-490). In today’s society, women are encouraged to be passive and silent. Compared to men, women are seen as linguistically inferior (Cameron 2003:453). However, research has shown that women tend to use a more standard and prestigious language form than men even though men are viewed with higher value and more power. The use of a more standard and formal language depends on the idea that women are seen as linguistically inferior and therefore need to use a more formal language than men in order to gain status (Cameron 2003:453; Romaine 2003:101-103). Women also tend to over-report their own language use, while men on the other hand tend to under-report their own language use (Romaine 2003:104). Since women tend to use a more formal and standardised language, swearing does not occur at a high rate. In women’s language swearing is seen as taboo, whilst in men’s language it does not. The use of a more standard form without swearing also makes women’s language more polite than men’s language (Gibbon 1999:119, 133).

Stereotypical for women’s language is that it is negatively used by women. Women are portrayed as gossipers who nag and quarrel, while men when in the same context are seen as arguing. However, recent studies have shown that gossip does not always need to be negative. In social relationships, women often gain trust when gossiping (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101). Because of the stereotype of women who gossip, they tend to be viewed as very talkative. However, even though women tend to be viewed as talkative language users, men are more likely to talk longer than women. Therefore, men also interrupt women more since women are stereotypically considered to be silent. So even though women are seen as talkative, they should at the same time be silent (Eckert & McConnell 2007:111; Talbot 2003:473).

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(1973) argues, make women’s language powerless and tentative, making women sound

uncertain (Lakoff 1973:55).

2.1.3 Transgender

When referring to gender as a social construction of sex, implications are made that there are only two sexes and therefore also two genders in society (McElhinny 2003:23). However, in today’s society people refer to themselves as not only men or women. People today can also view themselves as non-binary and transgendered. Transgender refers to “[…] a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond to that person’s sex at birth, or which does not otherwise conform to conventional notions of sex and gender.” (Oxford English Dictionary 2020b).

When studying transgendered people some identity dilemmas can occur. While some identify as the opposite of their sex, some alternate between identifying as feminine and masculine which is shown in Livia’s (2003:94, 153) research of transsexuals. However, the majority tends to identify with the opposite of their birth sex. By not only considering men and women when talking about gender, people are allowed to express a wider range of identities in society. Transgender is therefore important to include when studying the use of gender in society (Livia 2003:148).

2.2 The Swedish Syllabus

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2.2.1 English 6

The course English 6 is studied by students who are studying their second year in the Swedish upper secondary school. According to the commentary material provided by the National Agency for Education (2017), the courses in English at upper secondary school are related to CEFR’s general levels for a student’s language skills. The levels have a span from A1 to C2 and English 6 is considered to be on a B2.1 level (Natl. Ag. f. Ed. 2017:1).

The National Agency for Education explains that the courses’ levels are connected to CEFR since this will give the students the opportunity to study and work in other European

countries. Since the CEFR levels are common in Europe, a student’s grade will be comparable to the CEFR levels and understood in other countries than Sweden (Natl. Ag. f. Ed. 2017:1).

2.2.2 Textbooks

Previous research by Englund (2006:3) states that textbooks can be viewed as a symbolic communication. Textbooks are a part of the daily interaction with the surrounding world (Englund 2006:3). Gender stereotypes are presented in textbooks from a young age. Research from Turkey has shown that situations presented in the textbooks introduce students to what the world looks like and how they should act depending on their own and others’ gender. Textbooks help students to build ideas of how the world and themselves should be (Arslan, Karatas & Ergun 2019:2).

In many classrooms, textbooks are used as a form of organisation. They tend to be seen as a starting point for teachers to develop their education (Harmer 2015:71-72). Textbooks also allow access, for the student and teacher, to information about society and the surrounding world. The interpretations made in a textbook give the students a view of social norms and behaviour (Brugeilles & Cromer 2009:16). In a research guide published by UNESCO (Burgeilles & Cromer 2009), textbooks are a central part when learning about gender roles. The gender roles presented in the textbooks will be transferred to the students reading it. However, presenting gender is not mainly negative. By making gender stereotypes visible, the students will be able to investigate how to make society more equal (Burgeilles & Cromer 2009:15, 27).

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when teaching. Therefore, textbooks are not obligatory to use. It is instead up to the teacher to

decide what literary material to use when teaching, since the syllabus does not specifically state how the students should reach the knowledge requirements (Literature Review 2012:82). However, textbooks often work as a starting point (Harmer (2015:71-72).

3. Material and Method

The following section describes the material and method used for this study to reach the aim and answer the research questions.

3.1 Material

The primary material used for this essay consists of four textbooks aimed at the course English 6 in upper secondary school in Sweden. The material is chosen according to two criteria. They are aimed at English 6 and published after the introduction of the new Swedish syllabus for upper secondary school, Gy 2011. The four textbooks used are: Progress Gold B (Hedencrona, Smed-Gerdin & Watcyn 2014), Pioneer 2 (Lundfall, Österberg & Taylor 2013), Viewpoints 2 (Gustafsson & Wivast 2018) and Blueprint B (Lundfall & Nyström 2018). In the textbooks, focus is on the texts titled as fiction since these are of most relevance to the study. In Appendix 1, a detailed description of the fictional texts is given.

Progress Gold B is divided into nine chapters with four to seven texts in each chapter. Only the texts with the genre fiction will be analysed. The textbook aims at English 6 in upper secondary school and adult secondary education.

Pioneer 2 is divided into six chapters where all texts are divided into different genres. The texts titled as fiction will be the focus of this study. The textbook aims at English 6 in upper secondary school.

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Blueprint B is divided into seven chapters where all texts are divided into genre. The texts titled as fiction will be the focus of this study. The textbook aims at English 6 in upper secondary school.

Since only the physical textbooks were analysed a convenience sampling has been made. Convenience sampling refers to choosing material which is “[…] first to hand […]” (Denscombe 2014:43). The textbooks used were found at the library and therefore online material was not used since these are mostly needed to be paid for. Therefore, to make the analysis equal for all textbooks, only the physical textbooks were used. In Table 1 below an overview of the studied textbooks is given.

Table 1. Overview information of the analysed textbooks.

Title Year of Publication

Publisher Author Number

of pages

Number of fictional texts

Progress Gold B

2014 Studentlitteratur Hedencrona, Smed-Gerdin & Watcyn-Jones

352 14

Pioneer 2 2013 Liber Lundfall, Österberg

& Taylor

292 8

Viewpoints 2

2018 Gleerups Gustafsson & Wivast

296 10

Blueprint B

2018 Liber Lundfall &

Nyström

332 14

3.2 Method of Analysis

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righting these wrongs, which was done when discussing what effect the results would have for

an educational context in Section 6 (Fairclough 2010:10-11). In CDA, the researcher needs to produce interpretations and give explanations of texts. After this the researcher needs to find causes in order to give knowledge of how to right or mitigate these wrongs (Fairclough 2010:8).

CDA has been chosen as method since it approaches data with the idea that the data should never be accepted for what it is. The researcher should deconstruct the data to expose hidden meanings and messages. The focus should be on analysing what words do in a text rather than what their literary meaning is. A discourse analysis does not only focus on the evidence but also on what is absent and implied in a text (Denscombe 2014:288). Therefore, the focus of the analysis is on the implied meaning of the text, but also on how the characters speak and act in terms of gender stereotypes. The way the characters speak, and act can contribute with knowledge about the power relations in society. This will therefore be analysed and deconstructed, which is explained in more detail in the next two paragraphs.

This is a qualitative research since texts are analysed and CDA is foremost a qualitative research method. Qualitative research is also associated with small-scale studies, which this study is (Denscombe 2014:288). Although the main focus of the data was qualitative, the authors of the fictional texts were also counted in a quantitative way. When counting the authors, a quantitative method is needed. Therefore, content analysis will also be used since it is a method used when quantifying content of a text (Denscombe 2014:283). This method will be used as a starting point to get an overview of the results for the qualitative analysis. By counting the authors and categorising them to their sex, the study will likely uncover what gender identity the textbooks represent on a larger scale. The authors were counted and then divided into man, woman and other identity. After this the number of female authors were divided with the total number of authors to get a percentage of their representation. The same thing was done with the male authors and the authors categorised with other identity in order to get an overview.

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the data again. The data were read through and organised into male or female behaviour. In order to categorise the characters’ actions and speech, the theoretical background in Section 2 was used. When analysing the characters, certain male and female characteristics were searched for. The male characteristics were the use of swearing (Gibbon 1999:119) and man as the norm or as a superior character (Cameron 1992:159; Hirdman 2003:59). The female characteristics were the use of gossip and being talkative (Eckert & McConnell-Ginnet 2007:99, 101, 473), the use of lexical fillers, hedging expressions and tag questions (Lakoff 1973:50-57). Another female characteristic searched for was the view of women being subordinate in society (Cameron 2003:186, 453; Holmes 2007:3). These characteristics were searched for in all characters in order to see if the characters were portrayed gender stereotypical or not. In Appendix 2, a chart made when analysing the textbooks can be found.

3.3 Discussion of Material and Method

The selection of material does not make it possible to generalise the results. Since only four textbooks were analysed, the results cannot be applied to all textbooks. However, the results will most likely indicate a trend. To make the results generalisable all textbooks aiming at English 6 would need to be analysed. However, since the study has a limited time frame more than four textbooks would have been too much.

The chosen method can be discussed in terms of validity and reliability. Validity refers to whether the results of the study are appropriate and accurate. It refers to if the study investigates what it should investigate (Denscombe 2014:230). In CDA, the context of the literary texts needs to be explained to assure the validity of the study. This was therefore done in Section 4 to assure its validity. However, when data are manually collected there is a risk that mistakes might occur. Denscombe (2014:230) states that it is the researcher’s obligation to compare the collected data with the sources where they are taken from. Therefore, the data have been checked multiple times to make sure that is.

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interpretations made in this thesis, quotes are presented in Section 4 and the interpretations are

only related to the analysed characteristics mentioned in Section 3.2.

Ethical considerations have been made when conducting this study. No individuals are included in this study, since it only includes the textbooks. The analysis of the textbooks has been made as objectively as possible. Subjective thoughts and preconceptions on the topic have not been focused on when analysing the textbooks. Nevertheless, there is a risk that underlying preconceptions and beliefs might affect the interpretations of the fictional texts unknowingly. However, a conscious effort was made to be as objective as possible when analysing.

4. Results and Analysis

This section presents the results of the analysis. The textbooks will be described and analysed one at a time with the four research questions as main focus.

4.1 Progress Gold B

This section presents the results of the analysis of the textbook Progress Gold B. The section is divided into four subsections according to the four research questions posed in Section 1.1.

4.1.1 Gender of the Authors

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Figure 1. Percentage of the gender among the authors of Progress Gold B.

4.1.2 Male Characters

Out of the 14 fictional texts in Progress Gold B, eight texts had a male protagonist. When analysing the male characters in Progress Gold B, two of the male protagonists were shown as stereotypical male characters. Instead of using fillers and exclamations, which are typical female characteristics (Lakoff 1973:50-57), the male protagonist was described as well-spoken without unnecessary exclamations and pauses, in an extract from The Carpathians by Janet Frame. This is illustrated in Example (1):

(1) “His speech, too, was controlled and well clad, without stray meaningless exclamations and asides that are part of the usual speech – ah, I see, you know, eh, sort of […]” Hedencrona, Smed-Gerdin & Watcyn 2014:118).

In an extract from The Van by Roddy Doyle, the male protagonist swears and, in this way, uses linguistic features typical of male language (Gibbon 1999:119). The male protagonist uses words like fuck (Hedencrona, Smed-Gerdin & Watcyn 2014:24).

However, two male protagonists were not described as stereotypical male when speaking. In an extract from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Oliver politely says:

57% 43%

0%

Gender of authors in Progress Gold B

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(2) “Please, sir, I want some more.” (Hedencrona, Smed-Gerdin & Watcyn 2014:52).

Politeness can often be viewed as typical of women’s language (Gibbon 1999:119). However, politeness can also depend on other factors such as social and historical context and power relations. In Example (2), the politeness marker “sir” is a way of displaying age and power relations between the characters. Showing that Oliver is subordinate to the male master in the context of the historical period when the novel was written. Subordination is also shown in an extract from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, where Frodo says to Gandalf:

(3) “’But I have so little of any of these things! You are wise and powerful.” (Hedencrona, Smedin-Gerdin & Watcyn 2014:28).

Frodo, a male character, shows to be subordinate to the other male character Gandalf in Example (3). The characters’ relation to each other shows how power and status interact between characters. Since Gandalf is illustrated with more power and status than Frodo, Frodo becomes the subordinated character in this extract. The rest of the male protagonists were not described with stereotypical or non-stereotypical male characteristics.

4.1.3 Female Characters

Out of the 14 fictional texts in Progress Gold B, four had a female protagonist. The stereotypical characteristics of the female characters in Progress Gold B were not as explicitly shown as for the male characters. The female protagonists were vaguely described. In two of the fictional texts, female characters were using both stereotypical and non-stereotypical female characteristics. However, in an extract from A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf, the narrator describes herself:

(4) “[…] admitting that she was ‘only a woman’, or protesting that she was ‘as good as a man’.” (Hedencrona, Smedin-Gerdin & Watcyn 2014:58).

In Example (4), the female protagonist refers to women’s subordination and men’s superiority in society. This is also shown when continuing reading the extract, when she states that:

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The female protagonist needs to alter her values in order to be accepted in society, which is shown in Example (5). This hints at the fact that men are the norm of society and for women to gain status they need to act like men (Cameron 1992:186).

Although the gender or sex of the protagonist in Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris is not given in the extract provided by Progress Gold B, some female characters are mentioned in it. A Moroccan woman in the text acts competitively when arriving at the French lesson:

(6) “She’d covered these lessons back in third grade and took every opportunity to demonstrate

her superiority” in the classes (Hedencrona, Smedin-Gerdin & Watcyn 2014:112).

When trying to compete with the other students and show her superiority in the classes, the Moroccan woman uses her knowledge in the subject to ensure her dominance and power to the class, illustrated in Example (6). Superiority, competitiveness and power are usually seen as male characteristics (Holmes 2007:3). Another female character from Poland also swears when using words like shit (Hedencrona, Smedin-Gerdin & Watcyn 2014:113). Swearing is often seen as taboo in women’s language (Gibbon 1999:119).

4.1.4 Transgendered Characters

There were no direct mentions of transgendered characters in the fictional texts of Progress Gold B. However, two of the fictional texts were written with a first-person narrator. These were the texts from The Green Mile by Stephen King and Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. The character from The Green Mile manages an execution and the character from Me Talk Pretty One Day takes French lessons. By only reading the extracts provided by the textbook, the texts did not explicitly state the gender or sex of the character. Since the texts are written in first-person, the characters are not given a name or gender in the extracts given in the textbook. They are only referred to as I. The other texts labelled the characters as female or male by referring to them as she or he.

4.2 Pioneer 2

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In Pioneer 2, two out of eight authors of the analysed fictional texts were women. Six fictional texts had male authors. None of the authors mentioned in the textbook had another gender identity than man or woman. This is shown in Figure 2. Out of the six fictional texts written by male authors, three had a male protagonist, two had a female protagonist and one had a protagonist without an identified gender. The fictional texts written by female authors had one male protagonist and one female protagonist. The male protagonists written by male authors were described as both stereotypical and non-stereotypical male characters (Gibbon 1999:119; Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101). The male protagonist described by a female author was described as babbling, which is usually a female characteristic (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101). The female protagonists described by both male and female authors were described as stereotypical female characters (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101).

Figure 2. Percentages of the gender among the authors of Pioneer 2.

Out of the eight fictional texts in Pioneer 2, four had a male protagonist. The male characters in Pioneer 2 were described as both stereotypical and non-stereotypical male characters. The most distinct way the characters were shown as stereotypical male characters were through the use of swearing, which is typically viewed as a male characteristic (Gibbon 1999:119). Out of

75% 25%

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Gender of authors in Pioneer 2

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four male protagonists, two used swearing as a form of expressing themselves. In Indian Camp by Ernest Hemingway, one of the male characters expressed pain by saying:

(7) “’Damn squaw bitch!’” (Lundfall, Österberg & Taylor 2013:114).

In Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, a male character also swears by saying:

(8) “[…] And bloody lucky for you you didn’t fall on both feet.” (Lundfall, Österberg & Taylor 2013:153).

In two of the fictional texts, the male characters also take on stereotypical female characteristics when speaking. They become babbly and talkative, which is typical female characteristics (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101). In Restoration by Rose Tremain one of the male characters is described as babbling when coming into a room. In Indian Camp by Ernest Hemingway, one male character is feeling exalted and talkative, illustrated in Example (9):

(9) “[…] was feeling exalted and talkative as football players are in the dressing room after a game.” (Lundfall, Österberg & Taylor 2013:115).

However, Example (9) compares the feeling of being exalted and talkative with football players after a game, referring to being talkative because of some kind of energetic rush, not due to being overly feminine.

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(10) “[…] unable to sit down, she would flutter and fidget about from room to room […]” (Lundfall, Österberg & Taylor 2013:210).

In Example (10), the female protagonist is described as stressed and worried while her husband is calm and cool in his actions. The text also shows the subordination of women to men when stating:

(11) “[…] that she would never dare to call out or tell him to hurry. He had disciplined her too

well for that.” (Lundfall, Österberg & Taylor 2013:211).

By stating, in Example (11), that the male character has disciplined the female protagonist, the power relations are shown between the characters. The man is superior to the woman. At the end of the story, however, the female protagonist changes her behaviour:

(12) Her “[…] mouth, usually so flabby, was now tight and thin.” (Lundfall, Österberg & Taylor 2013:217).

The female protagonist is at the beginning of the extract viewed as flabby, talkative and babbly. However, this changes at the end of the extract, which is illustrated in Example (12). The protagonist then becomes silent and determined. Although she changes her ways in the end, she is still described stereotypically female when writing:

(13) “A nice chatty letter full of news and gossip […]” to her husband (Lundfall, Österberg & Taylor 2013:218).

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4.3 Viewpoints 2

This section presents the results of the analysis of the textbook Viewpoints 2. The section is divided into four subsections according to the four research questions posed in Section 1.1.

In Viewpoints 2, four out of 10 of the analysed fictional texts were written by female authors. Six fictional texts were written by male authors. None of the fictional texts had an author with another gender identity than man or woman, which is shown in Figure 3. All six fictional texts written by male authors had a male protagonist. Out of the four fictional texts written by female authors, one had a male protagonist and the other three had a female protagonist. The male protagonists described by both male and female authors were described as stereotypical male characters who swear and do not gossip (Gibbon 1999:119, Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101). The male protagonist described by a female author is described as strong and superior to the female character (Cameron 1992:186, Holmes 2007:3). The female protagonists described by female authors were described as both stereotypical and non-stereotypical female characters. One protagonist was viewed as independent, while the other was viewed as dependent of a man (Hirdman 2003:59).

Figure 3. Percentages of gender among the authors of Viewpoints 2.

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Gender of authors in Viewpoints 2

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Out of the ten fictional texts in Viewpoints 2, seven had a male protagonist. Three of the male protagonists in Viewpoints 2 are described as stereotypical male characters. The most outstanding feature is the use of swearing seen to the male characters (Gibbon 1999:119). The only characters using swearing when expressing themselves are the male characters. This is mostly shown in the extract from Nipple Jesus by Nick Hornby. The male protagonist uses swearing multiple times as a way of expressing himself through the extract by using words like

bloody, fucking and hell (Gustafsson & Wivast 2018:9-11).

The male characters are also shown as distancing themselves from gossiping, which is usually seen as a female characteristic (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101). In Youth by J. M. Coetzee, the male protagonist receives letters from his mother every week. These letters contain news and information about his hometown and the people in it. However, he states that he does not write back every week while trying to avoid the gossip (Gustafsson & Wivast 2018:86).

In an extract from The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna, the male protagonist is shown as strong while a female character is shown as weaker. In Example (14) the male character does not feel afraid but angry, while the female character looks scared:

(14) He didn’t feel afraid. But something kept pushing him from behind, making him angry. He turned and shoved the barrel of the gun away, slopping coffee down his front. He glanced at Balia, her face stiff with fear, walking with small reluctant steps. (Gustafsson & Wivast 2018:127).

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Out of the ten fictional texts in Viewpoints 2, three had a female protagonist. In Viewpoints 2, the female characters were shown as both dependent and independent of their male companions. One female protagonist was described as dependent and one female protagonist was described as independent. The third female protagonist was not described as either stereotypical or non-stereotypical female. In Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea, the female protagonist is dependant of her male companion. She is told that she cannot write her name when signing the marriage papers. It is explained that only men can write their name, which hints at women’s subordination in society (Hirdman 2003:59). In the same extract, other female characters are also shown as jealous regarding the female protagonist’s life. Because of the man she is supposed to marry, the other girls start to envy her, hinting at the competitive side of women (Gustafsson & Wivast 2018:53).

However, in an extract from Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, the female protagonist is shown as an independent woman. The first sentence states that:

(15) “Mrs. Dalloway say she’d buy the flowers herself.” (Gustafsson & Wivast 2018:223).

Example (15) gives the reader the idea that Mrs. Dalloway is an independent character who decides for herself. However, the rest of the extract does not imply whether Mrs. Dalloway is an independent or dependent character.

The fictional texts in Viewpoints 2 did not portray any transgendered characters. The characters mentioned and named were pointed out as either he or she and no signs of transgendered characters were seen when analysing. The fictional texts were written in third-person which led the reader to develop an understanding of the characters’ sex and gender when reading. The fictional texts written with a first-person narrator were described beforehand with a description of the characters’ sex and gender.

4.4 Blueprint B

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Blueprint B consisted of 14 fictional texts. 11 fictional texts were written by female authors. Three fictional texts had male authors. None of the fictional texts were written by an author with other gender identity. This is shown in Figure 4. All three fictional texts written by male authors had a male protagonist. Nine out of 11 fictional texts written by female authors had a female protagonist, while the other two fictional texts had a male protagonist. The male protagonists described by male authors were not given any specific stereotypical male or female characteristics, while the male protagonists described by female authors were described as both stereotypical and non-stereotypical male characters. The male protagonists described by the female authors were gossiping and playing god (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101, Hirdman 2003:59, Holmes 2007:3). The female protagonists described by the female authors were described as stereotypical female characters. They were polite, careful and gossiping (Gibbon 1999:119, Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101).

Figure 4. Percentages of the gender among the authors of Blueprint B.

Out of the 14 fictional texts in Blueprint B, five had a male protagonist. The male characters in the fictional texts of Blueprint B were not described to be either stereotypical or non-stereotypical men. In their descriptions and manners, the male characters were described

21%

79% 0%

Gender of authors in Blueprint B

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vaguely. However, in one part of the extract from Eligible by Curtis Sittenfield, the male characters are given female characteristics when they gossip about the women in town (Lundfall & Nyström 2018:110-111). The same situation happens in the extract from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, when the male characters gossip about the women at the ball (Lundfall & Nyström 2018:96). Gossiping is usually seen as a female characteristic (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101). In an extract from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, however, the male protagonist is shown as a typical male character when he creates life. The male protagonist plays God by creating life on his own, which suggests the superiority of men in society and is therefore viewed as superior (Lundfall & Nyström 2018:57). Men being superior in society also gives them the power to decide (Hirdman 2003:59, Holmes 2007:3).

Out of the 14 fictional texts in Blueprint B, nine had a female protagonist. In Blueprint B, the female characters are mostly displayed as stereotypical female characters. In an extract from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, the female protagonist, Elizabeth, is described as a gossiper after hearing the male characters own gossip. In the extract, illustrated in Example (16), it says that:

(16) “She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous.” (Lundfall & Nyström 2018:96).

When over-hearing Darcy and Bingley, Elizabeth takes her chance to retell their gossip to her friends, developing her into a gossiper as well, as shown in Example (16). As mentioned before, gossip tends to be seen as a typical female characteristic (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101).

The female characters in the fictional texts are mostly described as polite and careful, which is seen as stereotypical for women (Gibbon 1999:119). Three out of nine female protagonists are described as either polite or careful. In A Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood, the female protagonist says:

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When adding “please” in Example (17), the character hints at politeness. Also, in Suffragette

by Abi Morgan, one female character uses politeness markers when making her way through a crowd. She says:

(18) “Excuse me, sorry Sir, sorry.” (Lundfall & Nyström 2018:127).

In Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes, the female protagonist is described as careful when she knocks on the door:

(19) “[…] knocked timidly on the door.” (Lundfall & Nyström 2018:223).

In Example (19), the female protagonist is described as careful when using the adjective timidly when knocking on the door. The character is also described to be very organised later on in the extract (Lundfall & Nyström 2018:235). Also, in the extract from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, the female protagonist is described as superior to another female character. She states that:

(20) “Miss Ingram was a mark beneath jealousy; she was too inferior to excite the feeling.” (Lundfall & Nyström 2018:116).

In Example (20), the female protagonist is competitive and also showing her superiority to the other female character. She does this by stating that Miss Ingram is “[…] too inferior to excite that feeling.” (Lundfall & Nyström 2018:116).

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5. Discussion

By conducting an analysis based on CDA and content analysis, the research questions were answered. The aim of the study was to investigate how gender was portrayed in textbooks aiming at the course English 6 in the Swedish upper secondary school. Male authors were represented to a majority and transgendered authors and characters were not represented at all. The characters were also portrayed with gender stereotypical traits. However, female characters were portrayed more gender stereotypical than male characters.

When analysing the genders among the authors of the fictional texts, it was noticed that a majority of male authors were represented. In the four analysed textbooks, three represented a majority of male authors. Blueprint B was the only textbook representing a majority of female authors. What was also noticed was that none of the four textbooks represented authors identifying as something else than man or woman. The curriculum for upper secondary school in Sweden states that students should be given a wide range of authors and that education should strive towards all humans’ equal rights. The students should be given opportunities to develop an understanding towards other people and social situations (Natl. Ag. f. Ed. 2017, 2018). By largely only encountering male authors and no author identifying as something else than man or woman, the students will lose knowledge about social values, attitudes and issues. They will not get the opportunity to develop an understanding of different people and social situations. It will therefore be up to the teacher in charge to give the students a wider range and variety of authors to read.

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The male characters in the four textbooks were described and acted with both stereotypical male

and female characteristics. The most common male characteristic used was the male characters’ use of swearing. Most male characters swore at some point. Since women tend to use a more standardised and formal language when speaking, swearing is viewed as a taboo characteristic in women’s language in terms of previous research (Gibbon 1999:119, 133). Therefore, swearing is more accepted in men’s language since they tend to use a more informal language (Gibbon 1999:119, 133). Although this claim is stated, swearing has also become more common for both men and women to use in recent years. However, noticeable in the textbooks was that male characters swore more than female characters and one reason for this can be the former idea that swearing is taboo in women’s language.

The male characters also used power and status when talking to other characters. This was a common trait in most of the fictional texts in all textbooks. The male characters showed their superiority in relation to other characters, both male and female, by being portrayed as better at things. In Example (11), the male character disciplines the female character to not argue against him. He is in this case superior to the woman, which relates to the idea of men being the norm in society (Hirdman 2003:59). However, the male characters were not only described with stereotypical male characteristics. They were also seen as babbly and gossipy, traits which are usually associated with women’s language (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 2007:99-101). Two male characters in two fictional texts were described and acted by gossiping with fellow male characters in the texts. In two other texts, two male protagonists were described as being babbly and talkative.

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None of the fictional texts analysed in the textbooks portrayed transgendered characters. All texts were either written in third person, referring to the characters as he or she, or the texts were written in first-person and the characters were then described beforehand as male or female. Pioneer 2 had a chapter in the textbook discussing gender related issues. However, these were not mentioned in the fictional texts. As with the authors represented, the students will not be given the variation of texts and characters which the syllabus states that they should be given (Natl. Ag. f. Ed. 2013). It will therefore be up to the teacher to give the students other fictional texts related to gender, which are not provided by the textbooks.

Textbooks used in education should give the students access to different views of the world. The students will through these views be given the opportunity to develop an understanding of the world (Johansson & Staberg 2010:8). Interpretations made in textbooks will also give the students a view of social norms and gender roles. The social norms and gender roles presented in a textbook will be transferred to the students. It is therefore important to make them visible and discuss them in class (Burgeilles & Cromer 2009:15, 27). In the analysed textbooks, gender was not discussed in relation to the fictional texts. Instead if teachers want to highlight these questions in class, they will have to raise the questions themselves. Through the analysed fictional texts in the textbooks, the students will not be given access to different views of the world in terms of gender. However, other parts of the textbooks, which were not analysed in this study, might raise questions about gender related issues and give the students a broader view of society and social norms.

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In this case, the study has shown that gender related issues and questions need to be added in

class in order to give the students a diversity but also to give them knowledge about gender related issues.

6. Conclusion

The aim of this study was to investigate how textbooks from the course English 6 in the Swedish upper secondary school display gender. In order to reach this aim, the following research questions were posed: What gender are represented among the authors of fictional texts included in the textbooks? How are the female, male and transgendered characters portrayed in terms of gender stereotypes in the fictional texts?

A conclusion that can be drawn from the analysis is that mainly male authors are represented and no authors identifying as other than man or woman are represented in the textbooks. The textbooks therefore do not consider a diversity of authors when analysing the fictional texts provided to the students. In order to give the students a wider range of authors, the teacher will have to provide fictional texts outside of the textbooks.

Another conclusion that can be drawn is that no named transgendered characters were portrayed in the fictional texts. The analysed texts consisted of male and female characters. What was also noticed was that the male characters were mostly both masculine and feminine in their actions and speech, while the female characters were mostly only feminine in their actions and speech. However, some female characters took on male characteristics as well. The male characters were not explicitly male in their actions and speech. Instead, they were a mixture of both male and female, which can be because of the idea of men as the norm in society. Because of this, men do not need to act a certain way, as women do (Cameron 1992:159).

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today’s society. In order to give students a wider knowledge, teachers will have to discuss gender related questions in the classroom in relation to the fictional texts.

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References

Primary Sources

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Hedencrona, Eva, Smed-Gerdin, Karin & Watcyn-Jones, Peter (2016). Progress Gold B. engelska 6 – studieförberedande. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Lundfall, Christer, Österberg, Eva & Taylor, Jeremy (2013). Pioneer 2 English 6. Stockholm: Liber.

Lundfall, Christer & Nyström, Ralf (2018). Blueprint: engelska 6 B. Stockholm: Liber.

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Brugeilles, Carole & Cromer, Sylvie (2009). Promoting Gender Equality Through Textbooks: A Methodological Guide. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

Cameron, Deborah (1992). Feminism and Linguistic Theory. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Cameron, Deborah (2003). “Gender and Language Ideologies” in Holmes, J. & Meyerhoff, M. (red.), The Handbook of Language and Gender. p. 447-467. Oxford: Blackwell.

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Englund, Boel (2006). Vad Har Vi Lärt Oss om Läromedel? En Översikt över Nyare Forskning: Underlagsrapport till Läromedelsprojektet. Stockholm: Skolverket.

Fairclough, Norman (2010). Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. Harlow: Longman.

Gibbon, Margaret (1999). Feminist Perspectives on Language. London: Longman.

Harmer, Jeremy (2015). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Pearson Longman.

Hirdman, Yvonne (2003). Genus: Om Det Stabilas Föränderliga Former. Malmö: Liber.

Holmes, Janet & Meyerhoff, Miriam (2003). “Different Voices, Different Views: An Introduction to Current Research in Language and Gender” in Holmes, J. & Meyerhoff, M. (red.), The Handbook of Language and Gender. p. 1-17. Oxford: Blackwell.

Holmes, Mary (2007). What Is Gender?: Sociological Approaches. London: SAGE.

Johansson, Elisabeth & Staberg, Ylva (2010). Skönlitteratur i Engelskundervisningen: En Kvalitativ Studie i Hur Verksamma Lärare Använder Styrdokumenten i Relation till Sin Undervisning i Skönlitteratur. Luleå: Luleå Tekniska Högskola.

Lakoff, Robin (1973). Language and Woman’s Place. Language in Society, 2(1), pp. 45-79.

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Livia, Anna (2003). “’One Man in Two is a Woman’: Linguistic Approaches to Gender in

Literary Texts” in Holmes, J. & Meyerhoff, M. (red.), The Handbook of Language and Gender. p. 142-158. Oxford: Blackwell.

McElhinny, Bonnie (2003). “Theorizing Gender in Sociolinguistics and Linguistic Anthropology” in Holmes, J. & Meyerhoff, M. (red.), The Handbook of Language and Gender. p. 21-42. Oxford: Blackwell.

National Agency for Education (2013). Syllabus for English 5, 6 and 7.

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ntarmaterial_gymnasieskolan_engelska.pdf [2020-10-22].

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Appendices

Appendix 1

In Appendix 1 a description of the fictional texts that were analysed in the textbooks is found.

Progress Gold B (Hedencrona, Smed-Gerdin & Watcyn 2014)

Name of Novel Name of Author Year of Publication Page in Textbook

Comfort Woman Nora Okja Keller 1997 20

The Van Roddy Doyle 1991 24

The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien 1954 27

The Green Mile Stephen King 1996 38

Emma Jane Austen 1816 49

Oliver Twist Charles Dickens 1838 51

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain 1876 54

A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf 1929 58

Everest Kangshung Face Stephen Venables 1989 76 Anything We Love Can Be Saved Alice Walker 1997 82

Love Medicine Louise Erdrich 1984 94

Love and Other Near Death Experiences

Mill Millington 2006 108

Me Talk Pretty One Day

David Sedaris 2000 112

The Carpathians Janet Frame 1988 118

Pioneer 2 (Lundfall, Österberg & Taylor 2013)

Jaws Peter Benchley 1974 11

The Life and Loves of a She-Devil

Fay Weldon 1983 37

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The Tell-Tale Heart Edgar Allan Poe 1843 74

Indian Camp Ernest Hemingway 1924 112

Down and Out in Paris and London

George Orwell 1933 150

The Way Up to Heaven

Roald Dahl 1954 210

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Ken Kesey 1962 231

Viewpoints 2 (Gustafsson & Wivast 2018)

Nipple Jesus Nick Hornby 2000 8

Frock, Wireless, Gorgeous, Slacks

Peter Goldsworthy 1988 38

Girls of Riyadh Rajaa Alsanea 2005 50

Youth J.M. Coetzee 2002 84

The Child in Time Ian McEwan 1987 110

The Memory of Love Aminatta Forna 2010 124

The View from Coyaba

Peter Abrahams 1985 150

The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin 1894 178

Mrs Dalloway Virginia Woolf 1925 222

Blueprint B (Lundfall & Nyström 2018)

Grand Central Winter Lee Stringer 1998 16

Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1818 57

A Crime in the Neighbourhood

Suzanne Berne 1997 58

A Heart Goes Last Margaret Atwood 2015 68

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Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1813 94

Eligible Curits Sittenfield 2016 110

Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë 1847 116

The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin 1894 121

Suffragette Abi Morgan 2015 126

Unless Carole Shields 2002 162

White Teeth Zadie Smith 2000 198

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Appendix 2

In Appendix 2 the charts used when analysing the fictional texts are found together with the information given in Section 4. The bold parts of the quotes given under “Male

characteristics” and “Female characteristics” are to emphasise what in the quote is seen as either a male or female characteristic.

Progress Gold B (Hedencrona, Smed-Gerdin & Watcyn 2014)

Fictional Text Author (gender)

Protagonist Male characteristic Female characteristic

Comfort Woman Nora Okja Keller (female)

Female x “This is what causes wrinkles and

make your shoulders fold inward.” (p.20)

The Van Roddy Doyle

(male)

Male “Fuck it” (p.24) x

The Lord of the Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien (male)

Male x “’You must therefore use such

strength and heart and wits as you have’ ‘But I have so little of any these things! You are wise and

powerful. Will you not take the

ring?” (p.28) The Green Mile Stephen King

(male) First-person narrator In charge of execution → power? x

Emma Jane Austen

(female)

Female x x

Oliver Twist Charles Dickens (male)

Male x “Please, sir, I want some more.”

(p.52) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain (male) Male x x A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf (female)

Female x “She was admitting that she was

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Everest Kangshung Face Stephen Venables (male) Male (referring to himself) x x Anything We Love Can Be Saved Alice Walker (female) First-person narrator x x

Love Medicine Louise Erdrich (female) First-person narrator (background description saying the story is about two brothers) x x

Love and Other Near Death Experiences Mill Millington (male) Male x x Me Talk Pretty One Day David Sedaris (male) First person narrator

“She’d covered these lessons back in third grade and took every opportunity to

demonstrate her superiority.” (p.112)

“Oh shit” (p.113)

x

The Carpathians Janet Frame (female)

Male “His speech, too, was controlled and well clad, without stray meaningless exclamations and asides that

are part of the usual speech – ah, I see, you know, eh, sort of …” (p.118)

x

Pioneer 2 (Lundfall, Österberg & Taylor 2013)

Jaws Peter Benchley

(man)

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The Life and Loves of a She-Devil

Fay Weldon (woman)

Female x “She had just prepared a proper

breakfast for her children.” (p.37) “Ruth went around the house as a

good housewife…” (p.38)

“Ruth wept and wailed and clung to her neighbour.” (p.40)

Restoration Rose Tremain (woman)

Male x “…he babbled…” (p.66)

The Tell-Tale Heart Edgar Allan Poe (man) First-person narrator x x

Indian Camp Ernest Hemingway (man)

Male “Damn Squaw bitch!” (p.114)

“He was feeling exalted and

talkative as football players are in

the dressing room after a game.” (p.115)

Down and Out in Paris and London

George Orwell (man)

Male “And bloody lucky for you you didn’t fall on both feet.” (p.153) x The Way Up to Heaven Roald Dahl (man)

Female x “…Being quite unable to sit down.

she would flutter and fidget about from room to room…” (210) “…until her husband, who must have been well aware of her state, finally emerged from his privacy and suggested in a cool dry voice that perhaps they better get going.” (p.210)

“…that she would never dare to

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“The little mouth, usually so flabby,

was now tight and thin.” (p.217)

“A nice chatty letter full of news

and gossip.” (p.218)

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Ken Kesey (man)

Male x x

Viewpoints 2 (Gustafsson & Wivast 2018)

Nipple Jesus Nick Hornby (man) Male Fucking (p.9,10) Bloody hell (p.10) Fucking hell (p.11) x Frock, Wireless, Gorgeous, Slacks Peter Goldsworthy (man) Male x x

Girls of Riyadh Rajaa Alsanea (woman)

Female x “The other girls began to envy

Sadeem…” (p.53)

Only men can write their name (p.53)

Youth J.M. Coetzee

(man)

Male Mother sends letter to tell him news about hometown, doesn’t write back every week (p.86) x The Child in Time Ian McEwan (man) Male x x The Memory of Love Aminatta Forna (woman)

Male “He didn’t feel afraid. But something kept pushing him

from behind, making him angry. He turned and shoved

the barrel of the gun away, slopping coffee down his front. He glanced at Balia, her

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face stiff with fear, walking with small reluctant steps.”

(p.127) The View from

Coyaba Peter Abrahams (man) Male x x The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin (woman) Female x x

Oliver Twist Charles Dickens (man)

Male x x

Mrs Dalloway Virginia Woolf (woman)

Female “Mrs. Dalloway say she’d

buy the flowers herself.”

(p.223)

x

Blueprint B (Lundfall & Nyström 2018)

Grand Central Winter

Lee Stringer (man)

Male x “So I go over to him and hug him,

and that weeping shit starts kicking up again.” (20)

Oliver Twist Charles Dickens (man)

Male x x

Frankenstein Mary Shelley (woman)

Male Playing God x

A Crime in the Neighbourhood Suzanne Berne (woman) Male x x A Heart Goes Last Margaret Atwood (woman)

Female x “Could I have the key please.”

(p.68) Riding the Whip Robin Hemley

(man) Male x x Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen (woman)

Female x Darcy and Bingley gossip

“She told the story, however, with

great spirit among her friends; for

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which delighted in anything ridiculous.” (p.96)

Eligible Curits Sittenfield (woman)

Female x Chip and Darcy gossiping

(p.110-111) Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë

(woman)

Female x “Miss Ingram was mark beneath

jealousy; she was too inferior to

excite the feeling.” (p.116)

The Story of an Hour

Kate Chopin (woman)

Female x x

Suffragette Abi Morgan (woman)

Female x “Excuse me, sorry Sir, sorry.”

(p.127) Unless Carole Shields

(woman)

Female x x

White Teeth Zadie Smith (woman) Female x x Sushi for Beginners Marian Keyes (woman)

Female x “Come” he commanded, when

Ashling knocked timidly on the door.” (p.233)

Gender in the English Language Classroom