Dantong
American historian and feminist theorist Joan Scott (1994) proposed that the analysis of language provides a starting point for understanding how social relations are conceived and how collective identity is established. French feminists also argue that language, signs, and symbols are keys to understanding gender construction (Kristeva, Jardine, & Blake, 1981; Cixous & Kuhn, 1981 ), English and American feminist linguists have discussed the substance of the English language as literally man made and under male control (Spender & Bardin, 1985; Penelope, 1990). As for Chinese, the analysis of Chinese characters and idioms can provide the context for understanding the historical construction of gender roles, and the ideas that inform the oppression of women in ancient Chinese society. I will give some specific examples in Chinese to further illustrate it.
The ancient Chinese character for female (女, this is the simplified Chinese character for female) consists of a pictographic representation of a person kneeling with hands folded, a pose seen as a form of submission.
