After our discussion today about how some cultures place genders on specific nouns, I happened across a TV commercial that did just that. I have taken Spanish courses, as well, and always wondered at who chose whether a noun was masculine or feminine and how these were applied. While 'la casa' may appear to be an obvious critique on the woman as belonging in the house, some other nouns do not follow an easily identifiable issue such as 'la casa.'
The commercial I watched was for a TV program like Comcast -- I can't remember the exact name. At the beginning of the commercial, they identified the program as a 'she.' I was shocked to hear a program for a TV that allows 100s of channels and free movies to be identified as a 'she.' It does not make much sense nor is it a necessary part of the commercial. After a few moments the scene changes to a woman standing behind an actual TV showing off the program which is displayed on the TV.
I soon came to the understanding -- in my opinion, at least -- that the TV and its program are feminized because they are a source of entertainment. The TV program made new shows, movies, and stations much more accessible to its viewers. Much like 'la casa' is feminized because women remain in the house cleaning, cooking and caring for children, women are responsible for entertaining and providing for the happiness of others. Although it may not be an every day though, it is one explanation for this gendering of nouns in our society since we do not use markers such as 'el' and 'la' in our direct language.
This is interesting that something that is used for family enjoyment is sold using the woman as an entertainment factor. Granted, I suppose men are generally the ones shopping for TV's. The way that the woman is objectified here keeps bringing to mind the way men also refer to a TV as a 'her'. The same goes for cars and other inanimate objects. We always here "She's running good", "Come on baby, don't break down" or "Be easy with her". Maybe this is because of their relationship with these objects? Or maybe it has something to so with the fact that women don't come into being until brought to that status by a man, maybe it works in the same way for these objects (through the male eyes)?
ReplyDeleteWho choses these articles? Surely men. I agree with the comment above -if women are seen as objects then why wouldn't objects be gendered as female as well? The associations between objects with what is masculine and feminine is so interesting and I wonder what it looks like for other languages.
ReplyDelete*chooses.
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