THE CONSTRUCTION OF FEMININE IDENTITY IN FORMAL SPEECHES: AN ANALYSIS OF SPEECHES OF A FEMALE PRINCIPAL OF A TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION IN GHANA
Keywords:
identity, Technical College, feminine, sex, genderAbstract
Gender is an important social, cultural and psychological construct which describes the expected attitude and behavior a society associates with sex. This study conducted an in-depth investigation into how language is used to convey femininity in the construction of gendered identity. Being a useful tool for gender identity marker, language use in relation to gender was thoroughly discussed coupled with empirical and theoretical underpinnings of the study. The methodology adopted for the study was case study approach. Qualitative analysis was done in relation to the data collected from two speeches out of a corpus of 18 speeches delivered by the principal of a Technical College of Education in Ghana. Findings revealed that the principal, the only female principal of an all-male technical College of education in the country, constructed variable identities with the feminine identity being the dominant identity. This finding clearly demonstrates that irrespective of social status or achievement, the dominant identity a woman will construct is that of femininity.
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