Gender and the Use of Sexually Degrading Language
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12003585 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah K Murnen (0000-0003-4980-8863, Kenyon College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 319-327 |
| Publication date | 2000-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychology of Women Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0361-6843 • E-ISSN: 1471-6402 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1471-6402.2000.tb00214.x |
| OpenAlex | W2141014919 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 16 |
| References cited | 16 |
Based on feminist social constructionist theory, it was proposed that the sexual language women and men used would reflect male sexual power over women through degradation and objectification. In the first study, 79 women and 88 men (36 of whom were fraternity members) reported anonymously on the sexual language they used. The strongest effects found were that men (particularly those in a fraternity) were likely to use sexually degrading terms to refer to female genitals. Men were more likely than women to use aggressive terms to refer to copulation. In a second study, 56 women and 47 men college participants listened to a conversation between either two women or two men in which they were talking about having sex with someone they just met the night before. The speaker either used more degrading or less degrading language. In general, people judged anyone who used degrading language negatively. The person who was the object in the more degrading conversation compared to the less degrading conversation was judged as less intelligent and less moral. The results suggest that gender is associated with the sexual language people use, and that the degradation and objectification present in the sexual language men sometimes use might have harmful consequences on the person being objectified
Conversation · Developmental psychology · Fraternity · Human sexuality · Objectification · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Communication · Gender Studies · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology
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Too Sexualized to be Taken Seriously? Perceptions of a Girl in Childlike vs. Sexualizing Clothing
Vagina, Pussy, Vulva, Vag
Social Considerations Related to Adolescent Girls’ Sexual Empowerment
Fraternity Membership, the Display of Degrading Sexual Images of Women, and Rape Myth Acceptance
Cinco décadas de linguística feminista
Snatch,” “Hole,” or “Honey‐pot”? Semantic categories and the problem of nonspecificity in female genital slang
Athletic Participation, Fraternity Membership, and Sexual Aggression Among College Men
Visions of degeneracy
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Men's behavior toward women after viewing sexually-explicit films
Sexual Language Use in U.S. College Students Across Twenty Years
Feeling Love and Lust
An Examination of the Nature of Erotic Talk
Status Characteristics and Social Interaction
Changing men
The Reproduction of Mothering
Gendered Lives
Talking and Not Talking About Sex
Fraternity Gang Rape
Dominance and Inequality in X-Rated Videocassettes
Sexual Socialization Differences by Gender, Greek Membership, Ethnicity, and Religious Background
The Enjoyment of Sexist Humor, Rape Attitudes, and Relationship Aggression in College Students
Rape
Against Our Will. Men, Women and Rape
A Social Psychological Model for Predicting Sexual Harassment
Essentialism vs. social constructionism in the study of human sexuality
Gender, language, and influence
Sex Roles and Interpersonal Behavior in Task-Oriented Groups
| Citations per year | 0.64 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2001 - 2025 (25) |
| Highly cited | No |