摘要
本论文对中国大陆目前广泛使用的大学英语精读课本进行了性别形象分析。通过对所选的三种教材中男女主人公的社会角色、工作职业、品格形象以及男女角色在课本中的数量比例的分析,展现给读者一幅清晰的画面。研究发现,当前使用的英语阅读课本在很大程度上存在着性别主义倾向。传统观念上男主外,女主内,男强女弱,性别角色定型等等观念在所分析的课本中都十分显著。这种在性别呈现中的缺损显现应该引起教材编写人员、教学工作者和出版界的重视,因为教材中的这种不平等的描写,定式的男女人物的模式,对学生的观念形成会起到一定的作用。本文呼吁教育工作者对教材中性别主义现象予以关注,从而逐渐改变不公平的社会现象。
This paper examines gender representation in three English reading textbooks used at the tertiary level in China. The data selected from these reading textbooks are analyzed along gender lines for number of males and females who appear, number of occupations attributed to each group, and number of males and females identified by name. The purpose of quantifying such factors is to reveal how men and women are depicted in the teaching materials. On all three dimensions, the presence of females, their occupations, and even their names are greatly underrepresented. The textbooks are also unbalanced in terms of the quality of the representation. The omission of the actions and achievements of women and the stereotyped roles of males and females are so pervasive that it calls for special attempts from those who are engaged in education and publishing to eradicate sexism in future textbooks. The effects of such widespread distortions and stereotypes are harmful, and their consequences should not be underestimated.
