Discussing otherness through the linguistic representation of gender: from feminism to the rejection of the gender binary

The concept of ‘Self’ as opposed to ‘Other’ can describe individual and group identity in a given socio-cultural context, where Self and Other can be applied to a range of categories, from ethnicity to social class. Dominant groups generally use their power to control categorisation systems, thus allowing some of the resulting ‘classes’ (e.g. males, whites, middle-class people, and heterosexuals) to be attributed a ‘standard’ status, while discriminating and marginalising groups with different characteristics. Non-standard identities are thus perceived as other. This work focuses on gender, considered as a key category which contributes to define individual and socio-cultural identity, with a focus on Western English- and Italian-speaking contexts. As such, gender has been employed and linguistically represented as a means of categorisation where groups and identities are evaluated and treated according to dominant man-centred and heteronormative views. Groups generally perceived as ‘normal’ are thus separated from groups labelled as other, which fall outside the standards. Gendered Self and Other have assumed different shapes and configurations in time, and this has been reflected (and reflected upon) through language. In this work, the relation between gender and language is analysed with reference to previous studies, particularly by taking into account instances of gender-based oppression and discrimination, represented and carried out through language. In such context, the perceptions of Self and Other take place at different levels and across different communities. However, the concept of gender itself has been questioned, by introducing the possibility of rejecting or re-elaborating its traditionally binary “male or female” option. This produces new distinctions between norm-conforming self and non-binary, norm-defying other. This potential subversion of binary gender notions can have linguistic implications. Of these, two have been analysed in particular: the first, more general, is the attempt at promoting a more inclusive, gender neutral way to refer to people; the second, more specific, is the way in which English language media recently represented the refusal, by a part of the LGBTQ community, as well as by people who reject any such label, to be categorised and referred to as either male or female.