TY - JOUR
T1 - SEX-FOR-GENDER metonymy? A consideration of three expressions from Akan
AU - Diabah, Grace
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, equinox publishing.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - 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), obaa barima (woman-man) and obaa akokonini (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.
AB - 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), obaa barima (woman-man) and obaa akokonini (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.
KW - Gender
KW - Metonymy
KW - Sex
KW - Social constructionism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84979248487&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1558/genl.v10i2.19393
DO - 10.1558/genl.v10i2.19393
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84979248487
SN - 1747-6321
VL - 10
SP - 170
EP - 190
JO - Gender and Language
JF - Gender and Language
IS - 2
ER -