SEX-FOR-GENDER metonymy?

A consideration of three expressions from Akan

Authors

  • Grace Diabah University of Ghana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.v10i2.19393

Keywords:

gender, sex, metonymy, social constructionism

Abstract

Social constructionists consider gender as socially constructed, fluid and context-specific. An individual can thus behave in ways considered as either masculine or feminine in various contexts, irrespective of their sex. However, speakers of Akan (in Ghana) sometimes talk about people who behave in ways considered as contradictory to sociocultural expectations about gendered behaviour for ‘their sex’ as metonymically having two sexes. In this paper, I discuss three Akan metonymic expressions that exemplify this: Kojo besia (Monday-born male who is also female), ?baa barima (woman-man) and ?baa akok?nini (female-rooster). I argue that such expressions derive from a conceptual metonymy ‘SEX-FOR-GENDER’, and discuss how the analysis of such expressions contributes to theoretical perspectives on gender and language and to our understanding of metonymy. Although the understanding and interpretation of these metonymies appear quite essentialist, I argue that it may also be read as lending some support to the argument by some social constructionists that sex, like gender, is a social construction.

Author Biography

  • Grace Diabah, University of Ghana

    Grace Diabah is a Senior Lecturer of Linguistics at the University of Ghana, and a Post-doctoral Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies’ (ACLS) African Humanities Program (AHP). She holds a PhD and a Master of Research in Applied Linguistics from the Lancaster University (UK). She teaches and researches into Gender and Language, with a special interest in how men and women are portrayed in media discourses. Some of her publications include ‘From “Recharger” to “Gidi Power”: The representation of male sexual power in Ghanaian radio commercials’ (Critical Discourse Studies), ‘Caring supporters or daring usurpers? The representation of women in Akan proverbs’ (Discourse & Society) and ‘Powerful women in powerless language: media representation of African women in politics’ (Journal of Pragmatics).

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Published

2016-07-15

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2016)

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Diabah, G. (2016). SEX-FOR-GENDER metonymy? A consideration of three expressions from Akan. Gender and Language, 10(2), 170-190. https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.v10i2.19393