Kafila | Feb 11, 2013

Feminists have always held that language plays a very important role perpetuating in gender-based oppression. In this piece on Kafila.org, Anupama Mohan writes about phallogocentrism and the impact of language on societal values.

In English, the word seminal, which means something important and path-breaking, derives from “semen” and in contrast, the word hysterical or hysteria, which is a word that has for long been associated with peculiarly female physical and mental disorders (and often used for recommending women’s confinement), derives from “hystera” or the womb.

From there, she goes on to talk about the phallogocentrism, patriarchy, matriarchy, mythology, history, political correctness etc. to elaborate her point on the role of languages in the society.

Full article here: http://kafila.org/2013/02/11/the-languages-of-sexual-violence-anupama-mohan/