The relationship between linguistic devices and representation of different genders in secondary school health education textbooks: a critical discourse analysis
Abstract:
Since the Gender Equality Act, B.E. 2558 (2015), and the Act for the Prevention and Solution of the Adolescent Pregnancy Problem, B.E. 2559 (2016) were proclaimed, significant revisions have been made to the content related to different genders in the majority of health education textbooks. Based on this reason, this research aims to examine the relationship between linguistic devices and representation of different genders and to analyze the discursive practice and sociocultural practice of these textbooks adopting the framework of critical discourse analysis. In total, 30 textbooks produced by 5 different publishers were collected. The analysis reveals that several linguistic devices, including the use of referring terms, lexical choices and collocation, authoritative tone of voice, the creation of situations or hypothetical conversations, presupposition, presupposition denial, exemplification, intertextuality, and sentence association are adopted for representing all genders. Regarding the representation of women, women are mostly portrayed as those having their place in the house and those tend to express their emotions and feelings. As for the representation of men, men are depicted as those prone to violence and vices, and those who are expected to be gentlemen. The representations of the relationship between women and men tend to show that women are harassed or mistreated, and men are the ones who harass and mistreat. In addition, women are represented as those who are equal to men. There are also representations of LGBTQIA+ in these textbooks. Mainly, LGBTQIA+ are represented as those who are equal to other genders. However, in some textbooks LGBTQIA+ are still represented as those who are not completely equal to other genders. The analysis indicates that some representations of female and male are relatively similar to those in the pre-revision version. However, some representations are newly constructed. In addition, the representations of LGBTQIA+ in these textbooks are more open and supportive. However, there still exist representations of LGBTQIA+ that signify a negative attitude towards them. Although health education textbooks promote openness, there are still some instances of unequal representations. The analysis reveals that health education textbooks not only focus on providing knowledge, but also subtly present the hidden ideological concepts and attitudes on gender issues of the authors. The analysis of discourse practices reveals that the textbooks were produced by experts and authorized publishers. Consequently, the content in the textbooks is recognized as correct and reliable. Learners are therefore more likely to accept the concepts of genders represented in these textbooks as well. As for social and cultural practices, it is found that the original ideas of people in society, laws, media and events in society contributed to the construction of representations of different genders in health education textbooks. When compared to events in society that have shown a shift in perceptions about genders, it is found that the revision of the contents of the health education textbooks, although showing significant developments, may not be able to be adjusted in time for changes in society. In summary, textbooks are discourses that have a broader social impact. Also, it is shown that language serves as a powerful tool for constructing representations of genders which may affect perceptions and attitudes of people in society. Hence, textbook producers should be careful in presenting their content so that no gender bias is perpetuated.