Is
Spanish discriminatory?
"My conclusion is that it is so," says José
Luis Aliaga Jiménez, professor in
Linguistics of the Universidad de Zaragoza.
"It is so in the conservative resistance for
the formation of feminine nouns; in the
rejection of masculine forms when men start
doing jobs that were traditionally feminine,
such as ‘azafato’ (hostess), ‘amo de casa’
(househusband) or ‘niñero’ (baby minder);
and particularly, in the use of the
masculine form as a generic."
On the masculine form as a generic, Aliaga
Jiménez coincides with politician Luisa
Capelli, but from a linguistic point of
view. "My research has led me to believe
that the supposedly generic character of the
masculine when applied to mixed groups isn’t
a linguistic quality at all, but a pragmatic
interpretation that ends up in a discursive
suppression of women and their
achievements," he says.
"In the feminist theory and sociology," he
adds, "it is notorious the attitude of women
who, having reached an important public job,
try to blend in the dominant group (of men),
and deny the discrimination that goes on,
including the linguist discrimination… It is
usually accompanied by statements such as:
‘I have never felt discriminated against’,
which are the toll some women believe have
to be paid to be accepted in a masculinised
public realm."
Spanish philosopher Amelia Valcarcel has
described this as the "dynamic of the
exception".
"It is in that context in which you can
understand the preference for the masculine
professional titles, which is found in the
Spanish-speaking world, although to a lesser
extent than in Italian or French," he
concludes.
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