she were a cracker: talking gender and sexuality at work dr. louise mullany university of...
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“She were a cracker”: Talking gender and sexuality at work
Dr. Louise MullanyUniversity of Nottingham, UK
Gender and Language BAAL SIG:Gender and Corpus Linguistics
Lancaster University 30th March 2010
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• “doing” gender (Butler 1999; 2004)
• Gender identities as contested, pluralised and fluid
Introduction
• Gender, sexual, personal and professional identities• Hegemonic Discourses: broader social
structuration (Sunderland 2004; Baker 2008)
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Mixed methodologies (Holmes & Meyerhoff 2003; Swann & Maybin 2008; Mullany 2008)
Away from ‘armed camps’ (Silverman 2000: 10)
Quantitative, survey approaches: corpus linguistic tools and techniques
Qualitative approaches
Methodology
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Approaches•Indexicality of gender identity (Ochs 1992)
Direct indexicality: girl/boy: talk-in-interaction/CA (Stokoe and
Smithson 2001)
Indirect indexicality: expectations, norms: indexing social meanings: how gender is relevant (McElhinny 2003)
•Feminine and masculine CofPs (Holmes and Stubbe 2003)
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CANBEC24 companies in total: 2000-2004
‘Internal’ v ‘External’ (Handford 2007)
Manufacturing, IT, telecommunications, pub chain, travel agents, accountants, museum, magazine, hotel, management consultancy, finance/banking
Recordings: UK, also Ireland, Spain, Germany, Japan
Range of private companies and speakersMeetings: 912,734 wordsHandford and McCarthy (2004)
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Company type: Words in 1000s (Handford 2007: 76)
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Gender and CANBECCorpus tagging Gender make up:
79% men21% women
Gender, professional role, status
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Gendered term FREQUENCIES <M> <F>
boy 14 2 12
boys 27 19 8
girl 29 22 7
girls 21 18 3
man 126 118 8
-man (occupational titles)
37 32 5
men 55 37 18
woman 19 13 6
-woman (occupational titles)
0 0 0
women 17 6 11
lad 28 28 0
lads 96 96 0
lass/lassielasses
00
--
--
guy 195 174 21
guys 147 120 27
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Girl: random sample
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DataExternal meeting: Manufacturing
Hydraulics Company & Tyre Company
Sales/Negotiation
All male meeting: 7 participants
Tyres: M3, M5, M6
Hydraulics: M1, M2, M4, M7
Age: 30-39: 3; 40-49: 3; 50-59: 1
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Analysis: frequenciesDirect indexicality: gender as topic
she
girl
woman
bird
last night: emerges as a narrative topic about the same female referent
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Give us a phone call a bit like that bird last night she was gonna have it
Oh right which one was that? This
All the drugs trying to keep that
bird
bird
had fell out the ugly tree and had a
out of his room
sitting in it (laughter) scary woman was she? She was like Joe on steroids
cos you may well have a woman replacement for yourself but they are
All Data © Cambridge University Press
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Mick I did in my own little way she was so drunk she’ll never remember
You told her that I tell you what she’d
got a cracking pair of legs on her you know
nice cuppa thank you (2 sec) she was gonna have it any way which way but
The bicycle thing yeah I think she was just a tease she did the job on you
No I just sort of did that laughter she picked up chair and went over and sat
All Data © Cambridge University Press
‘She was gonna have it any way which way but loose last night.’
27/32 instances of’ she’: same referent: ‘woman’ who they had met socially ‘last night’
Evidence of a recurrent narrative topic: ‘last night’: Explore as a two-word cluster:
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Did you have a good night last night I did yeah we were just saying
was (laughter) you told me last night I’d got a job here (1 sec) same
trying to find James oh oh right last night be my guest I’m saying nothing
laughs cos we could have scored last night yeah definitely Mick you made
us a phone call bit like that bird last night She was gonna have it both ways
any way which way but loose last night till contraceptive came in (10 sec)
Off (4 sec) laughter that girl last night If you’d played your cards right
that’s why you went choir singing last night You can’t believe them they they
a lot for you ho= hospitality last night And thank you very much for the
he spoilt my fucking evening last night Didn’t he (1 sec) fucking hell Rod
All Data © Cambridge University Press
Strategic positioning of this narrative: See Mullany (forthcoming)
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Qualitative analysisMultifunctionality of:
Narrative: strategic positioning
Humour: banter, insults, sexist humour
small talk-----------------------core business talk (Holmes 2000)
Display of dominant hegemonic masculinist identities through these discourse devices
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Opening
<M4> Did you have a good night last night?
<M6> I did yeah We were just saying that's all (1 sec) part of it and it gives you that little bit of a buzz for the next day for (1 sec) you know the business side
[…]
<M4> Morning Cecil
<M0> Morning
<M4> Are you coming Are you joining us?
<M0> I no I'm trying to find James
<M4> Oh oh right
<M3> last night
<M4> Be my guest
<all laugh>
<M5> I'm saying nothing <xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<M4> good company then
<M3> Eh she were a cracker
<1 sec subdued laughter>
All Data © Cambridge University Press
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Mid-meeting
<M5> Yeah so if you elay= email me and Mick
<M3> Okay email yeah Rod and I
<M2> Yep
<M5> George
<M3> But give us a phone call
<M4> Yeah I will yeah You'll get it both ways
<M3> Give us a phone call
<M5> A bit like that bird last night She was gonna have it both ways until you put your fucking nose in
<laughter>
< 3 sec>
<M5> Nice cuppa
<2 sec>
<M3> She was gonna have it any way which way but loose last night
<M5> Till contraceptive came in
All Data © Cambridge University Press
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Negotiation<M3> Hundred and twenty two hundred fucking hell <M6> Can you tell us what's gone down please<M5> (1 sec) ((laughs))<M6> Do you normally get both?<M2> Level of service that's {dropping off}((4 sec laughter))<M4> That girl last night if you'd played your cards right<M?> Yeah(4 sec) ((raucous laughter))<M?> You played your cards right<M3> If you hadn't of hadn't have interfered((laughter))<M6> What if I'd have gone and sat on another table on my own<M3> Yeah and then it might have been all right<M5> We did hint We did hint
All Data © Cambridge University Press
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Closing<M4> Thanks very much for the business<M5> I think on on behalf of of the three of us thanks a lot for your
ho= hospitality last night and thank you very much for the {xxxx} Thanks a lot
<M4> Thank you<3 sec><M3> The only thing is that on the next review meeting could we keep
it too two members of the<M5> Yeah<M6> be interested in coming anymore <laughter><M5> Cos one member <M3> Duncan won't be able to make it<M5> Cos he won't be breathing[…]<M4> Do you want me book three rooms for you?<M3> Please<3 sec>
All Data © Cambridge University Press
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Closing
<M4> Double for you and Rodney single for Dunc <1 sec> cos he won't need+
<M5> No no+
<M4> +anything else will he
<M5> +bugger his room he can stay in the car <2 sec > nice spring
<M6> You got a double together?
<2 sec >
<M3> He spoilt my fucking evening la= last night didn't he
All Data © Cambridge University Press
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DiscussionCo-construction of multiple identities Stereotypically masculine CofP:
‘Last night’ narrative: hegemonic masculinist heroes (M3, M5) and anti-hero (M6)
Expletives
Humour: Sexist humour, banter, insults
Transactional & affective talk: inextricably interlinked
Pluralised masculinities
Dominant hegemonic discourse of heterosexual masculinity (Coates 2003; Sauntson 2008; Baker 2008)
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Conclusions•Direct indexing of gender terms: mixed methods through corpus linguistics as initial survey approach
•Dominant hegemonic discourse of heterosexual masculinity in this ‘masculine’ manufacturing CofP•Integral and multifunctional role of humour, narrative, small/social talk
•Strategic positioning of narrative: Openings, negotiation, conflict/tension releaser, closings, solidarity-building, social distancing
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References
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Second Edition. New York: Routledge.Butler, J. (2004) Undoing Gender. New York: Routledge. Coates, J. (2003) Men Talk. Oxford: Blackwell.Handford, M & M. McCarthy (2004) “Invisible to us”: A preliminary corpus-
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ReferencesHolmes, J. and Stubbe, M. (2003) `”Feminine” workplaces: stereotype and
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