On Tuesday, in my class, we were talking about how language shapes awareness of gendered issues. I started wondering about this topic. How does language shape awareness of gendered issues? Well, my book gives the example of using the name "date rape". In the past, women were getting raped by their dates but didn't have a name for what was happening to them. Now we have a name for it, "date rape", and it is now in the forefront of the public's eye because we named it. It got me thinking about how we as a society name things that are important to us. Even in a personal relationship, people give nicknames to their significant others because they are important to them. For example, when I first met my boyfriend I called him the name that he introduced himself as, "Tom". Now we have been dating for 2 and a half years and I have the nickname "Bubba" for him. I named something that I think is important to me.
Naming things gives them a certain power. If I call myself a female, it gives me a certain empowerment over others who are not female. I have the power to bear children, something that men do not have. Giving a name to something helps us as a society to recognize what it is and what power it has. Take the word "terrorism". It wasn't really a big word in American society until 9/11. When 9/11 occurred, we had an specific idea, because it happened to us, what terrorism was. Every time the word "terrorism" was used on television, radio, or the internet, we could associate that word with 9/11. It gave it a power that now is recognized around the world. We have always been fighting a war on terrorism since we have been a nation, but now, because we gave the word recognition and power, it is the war on whoever tries to threaten the U.S. like on 9/11. Language is very powerful. It helps raise awareness where awareness should be raised. It changes with the times to help us understand things that were not fully understandable in the past.
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