The imminent danger of metaphor p2

Are the worlds as different because of their languages’ alternate realities?

UNPROVEN YET TRUE?

It might be and it might not be that reality is shaped by language (nonetheless the gravity works in all of them, despite the name). Nor Sapir or Whorf were able to prove it.

However, at least in Spanish, there’s this business of citizens and citizeness… To speak of ciudadanos and ciudadanas, when the word citizens/ciudadanos covers under its umbrella both male and female citizens… Right?

What’s the political pursue of such a language desecretation then? Yes, the idea irritates a bunch of people but is it worth analysis?

Let’s imagine for a moment that what happens in English does in Spanish as well. The use of the generic engineer, doctor, physician, lawyer and driver is deceitful, sly and manipulative to the point we rarely imagine a woman upon hearing these words. How many of these words did you imagine as women when reading? I can bet. None. Jane Aitchinson mentions the scientific study in her lectures. She doesn’t specify how it was tested tough.

NEUTRAL?

What comes out of this supposedly neutral space where the male noun doesn’t evoke an equality paradise in which women as well as men do pilot airplanes?

Back then, when I wrote the Spanish entry, I wouldn’t have been able to follow the lead to the explanation. What comes out of it is an imagined reality in which women are politely hushed. Taken into account just for the sake of appearance. Imagined realities come from language. Thus.

IN INHERITANCE

Besides the non neutral gender suggested by nouns, there’s a second quality inherent to language: inheritance.

A mother is someone married to the father (note the submission). She gave birth and looks after the offspring.

Maybe nothing at all but also, a collection of stereotypes! Mothers can’t be single (which is why the rush to have a wedding). Mothers can’t adopt and they can’t, certainly, leave their kids in the hands of someone else… So they should stay home and never work.
I know. The definitions are changing. But the way they change is dependant on tiny revolutions and, in the meanwhile, bring prejudice into scene. » Why should the guy fall in love with a woman with kids and waste his youth on someone else’s kids».

No one would notice Joseph, Mary’s husband, became a mere p.p¹. ( padre putativo or putative parent) in Jesus life to save us from seeing the problem. For the guy won’t be given the ‘father’ status in spite of the love and time given. That’s reserved to the ‘chap’ who organized it all from above.

TO BE CONTINUED

1. Some say that p.p. is the origin of the mock ‘Pepe’ in Spanish. ↩︎