A critical discourse analysis of gender relations in Brazil

Gender relations in Brazil are focused in this paper from the perspective of language, as seen in presuppositions and commonsense assumptions. Presuppositions, viewed as part of the intertextual context, are analyzed to show how underlying processes of language play a significant part in reproducing...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of pragmatics 1995-02, Vol.23 (2), p.183-197
Main Author: MAGALHAES, M. I. S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brazil
Discourse Analysis
Discourse semiotics
Discourse studies
Ideologies
Language
Linguistics
Patriarchy
Sex Role Identity
Sex Roles
Social Determination of Meaning
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Gender relations in Brazil are focused in this paper from the perspective of language, as seen in presuppositions and commonsense assumptions. Presuppositions, viewed as part of the intertextual context, are analyzed to show how underlying processes of language play a significant part in reproducing unequal power relations. The analysis of three different texts shows the relation between language and ideology in the construction of gender. It is found that heterogeneity guides presuppositions and commonsense assumptions of texts about women and texts produced by women in Brazil, indicating two main forms of coexistence: the discourse of control and the discourse of liberation. Further, behind the discourse of liberation, one will register the discourse of control which derives from the dominating gender of a basically patriarchal society. In the big cities, however, the analysis shows that women have a social identity derived from the struggle for civil rights. Thus, while two of the texts are representative of the tension between the discourse of control and the discourse of liberation in this society, the third one reveals a discourse change in progress: liberated from the conservative patriarchal discourse, women demand that their rights be made explicit in the Constitution.
ISSN:0378-2166
1879-1387
DOI:10.1016/0378-2166(93)E0101-5