Feminist Philosophy of Language : A Distinctive Theoretical Movement Founding the Requirement of Gender-Sensitive Language
Abstract
This article reconceptualizes the feminist philosophy of language. Rather than simply define it as criticism or denial of its mainstream/malestream version (i.e. academic philosophy of language), it offers a positive explanation of its theoretical framework and aims.
It seeks a revision of the so-called classical concepts in order to show that such (alternative) framework not only exist but also provides valuable source for solving contemporary gender-equality problems. To clarify the positive definition of this movement, I first present John Austin's concept of speech acts, which I then revise with regard to the theories of Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu.
Then, I use the theory of Judith Butler to situate this concept (performative speech acts) within the pro-feminist oriented framework of philosophy of language. Finally, I use this whole argument to frame the issue of gender-sensitive (non-sexist) language; namely, I discuss the usage of the generic masculine as a discriminative speech act.