The Gendered Nature of Language in English Textbooks in Pakistan

Gender bias manifests in a number of ways in textbooks, both linguistic and non-linguistic. Linguistic prejudice is more subtle and ingrained in the language, hence difficult to discover. Moreover, such bias can have a negative impact, especially on female learners. Against this backdrop, the researcher analyzed linguistic bias in English textbooks in Pakistan. Specifically, the textbooks used in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at college level (grades XI & XII) were investigated to determine how gender is portrayed in them. Based on the framework employed by Porreca, the categories of analysis used were order of mention (firstness), masculine generic constructions, and the nouns and adjectives used for male and female genders. Content analysis was used as a methodological framework of analysis. The results revealed that regarding order of mention, in most cases the male gender was mentioned first and the female second. In the category of generic male expressions, it was found that almost all the instances of generic expressions were male-referenced. The nouns for males such as “father,” “man,” and “grandfather” were used in greater numbers than their female counterparts, such as “mother,” “woman,” and “grandmother.” With reference to the use of adjectives, whereas males were variously described, females were often described as physically attractive and emotional. The study concludes by recommending inclusive language for both genders to overcome linguistic bias in English textbooks. KCI Citation Count: 0