Gender voices in Hong Kong English textbooks: Some past and current practices

Fung King Jackie LEE, Peter COLLINS

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

75 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper seeks to investigate whether recent improvements in the status of women in Hong Kong are reflected in patterns of gender representation in Hong Kong secondary English textbooks. A comparison of ten recently published books which are currently in use with ten published in the late 1980s/early 1990s and no longer in use revealed that women appeared more frequently in the former, and that greater use was made of gender-inclusive pronouns and the neutral address title Ms. Nevertheless some writers, it was found, continue to perpetuate the stereotyped image of women as weaker than men, and as operating primarily within domestic rather than social domains. The “male-first” phenomenon and the visual under-representation of women are still prevalent in recent textbooks. Copyright © 2008 Springer Science + Business Media, LLC.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)127-137
JournalSex Roles
Volume59
Issue number1-2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2008

Citation

Lee, J. F. K., & Collins, P. (2008). Gender voices in Hong Kong English textbooks: Some past and current practices. Sex Roles, 59(1-2), 127-137.

Keywords

  • Hong Kong
  • Textbooks
  • Gender
  • Generic pronouns

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