Gender Matters

Gender Matters Synopsis

Gender Matters is a collection of Sara Mills' new and previously published essays on feminist linguistic analysis of texts (literature, media texts, pop songs) and conversation. The essays focus on the issues of sexism, gender and reading/writing, gender and politeness and gender and public speaking. They attempt to answer questions such as Why is it necessary for feminists to analyse or comment on sexism, since it is largely regarded by the public and by the media as such an anachronistic concern?

How can feminists describe the effect of gender on reading and on writing? What is the relation between gender and politeness - are women more polite than men and if not, why does everyone think that they are? and Given that women are generally considered as finding public speaking difficult, how is it that there are nevertheless a large number of women who are assertive and who can speak easily in public contexts?