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Professional Discourses, Gender and Identity in Women's Media

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

Authors:
  1. Melissa Yoong

    1. School of English, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Malaysia

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  • Analyses the role of language in maintaining gender inequalities
  • Brings a linguistic lens to the interrogation of post-feminist media
  • Integrates feminist critical discourse analysis, critical stylistics and conversation analysis

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
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  2. Gender Inequalities in the Malaysian Workplace

    • Melissa Yoong
    Pages 1-26

  3. Neoliberal Feminism, Postfeminism and Professional Identities in the Media

    • Melissa Yoong
    Pages 27-41

  4. Data and Analytical Approaches

    • Melissa Yoong
    Pages 43-62

  5. Neoliberal Feminism and Media Discourses of Employed Motherhood

    • Melissa Yoong
    Pages 63-91

  6. Postfeminist Discourses and Work Femininities in Women’s Media

    • Melissa Yoong
    Pages 93-121

  7. Synthetic Sisterhood in Malaysian Women’s Media

    • Melissa Yoong
    Pages 123-132

  8. Gender Workplace Equality: From Research to Policy and Practice

    • Melissa Yoong
    Pages 133-144

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 145-149
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Keywords

About this book

This book examines the professional discourses produced in women’s media in Malaysia and the subject positions that they make available for career women. Drawing on feminist critical discourse analysis, critical stylistics and feminist conversation analysis, it identifies a range of gendered discourses around employment and motherhood that are underpinned by postfeminism and neoliberal feminism. Through close linguistic analysis of magazine and newspaper articles and radio talk, the study reveals that these discourses substitute balance, individual success, self-transformation and positive feelings for structural change, and entrench the very issues hindering gender workplace equality. Chapters discuss topics such as sexism, work-family balance, extensive and intensive mothering, breadwinning, gender stereotypes, beauty work, ‘synthetic sisterhood’, media practices and gender equality policies. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of language and gender, discourse analysis, and media, communication and cultural studies as well as policy-makers, media practitioners and feminist activists. 

Reviews

A highly original approach to understanding some of the discourses that construct, reinforce and contest gender inequalities in Malaysia. Yoong's insightful analysis of written and spoken media through a critical, feminist lens will provide food for thought for scholars everywhere.

- Lia Litosseliti, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, City, University of London

An extremely rigorous and timely examination of how gender inequality in the workplace and beyond is maintained and normalized in Malaysia, with particular—and fascinating focus—on women’s media.

With brilliant analyses, fine detail and impressive conceptual clarity, Yoong’s book offers absolutely crucial insight into how postfeminism and neoliberal feminism take on specific contours in the Malaysian context. A significant contribution to the feminist discussion.

- Catherine Rottenberg, Associate Professor, University of Nottingham UK, and author of The Rise of Neoliberal Feminism

This is a rich account of how media language and discourse continue to perpetuate gender inequality at the workplace and reinforce gender gaps in leadership positions. Successful women are portrayed as acing the perfect balancing act, while treading through the fine lines between norms and taboos. By unravelling the reality behind such an idealisation this book is a notable contribution towards our understanding of the postfeminist phase of women’s striving for empowerment and autonomy.

 -        Maznah Mohamad, Associate Professor, National University of Singapore

Authors and Affiliations

  • School of English, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Malaysia

    Melissa Yoong

About the author

Melissa Yoong is Assistant Professor in Sociolinguistics at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. She has published research exploring language, gender and sexuality issues in print, broadcast and digital media.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Professional Discourses, Gender and Identity in Women's Media

  • Authors: Melissa Yoong

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55544-3

  • Publisher: Palgrave Pivot Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55543-6Published: 24 November 2020

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-55544-3Published: 23 November 2020

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 149

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Sociolinguistics, Language and Gender, Discourse Analysis, Asian Culture, Feminism

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