Gender Matters

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? These essays as a whole enable the reader to chart the passage from second wave to third wave feminist analysis, without assuming that second wave feminism has been superseded by third wave.

Sara Mills is a Research Professor in Linguistics at Sheffield Hallam University. Her most recent publications include Gender and Colonial Space (2005, Manchester University Press), Michel Foucault (Critical Thinkers Series, 2003, Routledge), Feminist Post-Colonial Theory: An Anthology (edited with Reina Lewis, 2003, Edinburgh University Press) and Gender and Politeness (2003, Cambridge University Press).