The discursive construction of a ‘model Cameroonian woman’ within the Cameroonian Parliament
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.v6i1.21Keywords:
Cameroon, parliament, gendered discourses, discursive strategies, model cameroonian womanAbstract
This paper examines the discursive construction of a ‘model Cameroonian woman’ in the Cameroonian parliament. Model here is used to indicate a popular ideal. The starting point for this paper comes from discourses articulated within the wider society that tend to be rearticulated in public formal contexts such as the parliament. The data comes from a wider study (see Atanga 2007) and constitutes recordings from parliamentary sessions in Cameroon, which are transcribed and translated into English. I draw on Wodak’s discourse-historical approach to Critical Discourse Analysis (Wodak 2001; Wodak and Meyer 2009) to analyse the data. This involves the identification of traditional gendered discourses articulated within the parliament and the discursive strategies used to legitimate them. The identification of these discourses is based on Sunderland’s (2004) discourse identification approach. For the legitimation (see Reisigl and Wodak 2001) I examine arguments used to legitimate the construction of a ‘model Cameroonian woman’ and which serve to build in-groups and out-groups, and which sustain and maintain the status quo (e.g. of women as domestic or women as cooks). These strategies may include both a specific rhetorical style and arguments to legitimate the discourses. This study shows the ideological battles and challenges which Cameroonian men and women are faced with in an era of globalisation.
References
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Fonchingong, C. C. (2005) Negotiating livelihoods beyond Beijing. International Social Sciences Journal 57(2): 243–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2451.2005.00548.x
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Kiesling, S. F. (2005) Homo-social desire in men’s talk: balancing and re-creating cultural discourses of masculinity. Language in Society 34: 695–726. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0047404505050268
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Lazar, M. (2005) Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lee, F. and Lin, A. M. Y. (2006) Newspaper editorial discourse and the politics of self-censorship. Discourse & Society 17(3): 331–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0957926506062371
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Mills, S. (2002) Th ird wave feminism linguistics and the analysis of sexism and naming practices, Plenary paper, IGALA2. University of Lancaster, UK.
Mupotsa, D. S. (2007) An African feminist standpoint? Postamble 3(1): xi–xxiii.
Reisigl, M. and Wodak, R. (2001). Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetorics of Racism and Anti-Semitism. London: Routledge.
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Sunderland, J. (2004) Gendered Discourses. Basingstoke: Palgrave. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9780230505582
Talbot, M. (1995) Fictions at Work: Language and Social Practice in Fiction. London: Longman.
Tannen, D. and Saville-Troike, M. E. (1985) Perspectives on Silence. Norwood: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
van Dijk, T. (1997) What is political discourse analysis?. Key-note address, Congress Political Linguistics. Antwerp, 7-9 December 1995. In J. Blommaert and C. Bulcaen (eds) Political Linguistics 11–52. Amsterdam: Benjamins
van Dijk, T. (2001) Multidisciplinary CDA: A plea for diversity. In R. Wodak and M. Meyer (eds) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis 95–120. London: Sage.
van Dijk, T. (2006) Discourse and manipulation. Discourse and Society 17(3): 359–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0957926506060250
van Dijk, T., and Wodak, R. (2000) Racism at the Top: Parliamentary Discourses on Ethnic Issues in Six European States. Klagenfurt: Drava Verlag.
van Leeuwen, T. (1996) Th e representation of social actors. In C. R. CaldasCoulthard and M. Coulthard (eds) Texts and Practices 32–70 London: Routledge.
van Leeuwen, T. and Wodak, R. (1999) Legitimising immigration control: a discourse- historical approach. Discourse Studies 1(1): 77–122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461445699001001005
Wagner, I. and Wodak, R. (2006) Performing success: strategies of self-representation in women’s biographical narratives. Discourse and Society 17(3): 385–411. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0957926506060251
Walsh, C. (2001) Gender and Discourse: Language and Power in Politics, the Church and Organisations. London: Longman.
Weiss, G. and Wodak, R. (2003) Critical Discourse Analysis: Theory and Interdisciplinarity. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Wodak, R. (2001) Th e discourse-historical approach. In R. Wodak and M. Meyer (eds) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis 63–94. London: Sage.
Wodak, R. (2003) Multiple identities: the roles of female parliamentarians in the EU parliament. In J. Holmes and M. Meyerho? (eds) Th e Handbook of Gender and Language 671–98. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wodak, R. (2005) Gender mainstreaming and the European Union: interdisciplinarity, gender and CDA. In M. Lazar (ed.) Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis 61–89. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Wodak, R. and Meyer, M. (2009) Critical discourse analysis: history, agenda, theory and methodology. In R. Wodak and M. Meyer (eds) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis 1–33. 2nd edition. London: Sage.
Atanga, L.L. (2010) Gender, Discourse and Power in the Cameroonian Parliament. Bamenda: Langaa Research and Publishing.
Awasom, S. (2005) Towards a gendered development discourse in Africa: visible women, invisible men. CODESRIA 11 General Assembly Maputo: CODESRIA.
Baxter, J. (2003) Positioning Gender in Discourse: A Feminist Post-Structuralist Approach. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Cameron, D. (1997) Performing gender identity: young men’s talk and the construction of heterosexual masculinity In S. Johnson and U. Meinhof (eds), Language and Masculinity 47–64. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Cameron, D. and Kulick, D. (2003) Language and Sexuality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511791178
Chilton, P. (2004) Analysing Political Discourse. London: Routledge.
Chilton, P. and Scha? ner, C. (2002) Politics of Text and Talk: Analytical Approaches to Political Discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Christie, C. (2003) Politeness and linguistic construction of gender in the parliament: an analysis of transgression and apology behaviour. Linguistic Politeness and Context. She?eld Hallam University Working Papers on the Web. http://extra.shu.ac.uk/wpw/politeness/christie.htm accessed 26th September 2011
Dahl, K. (2006) ‘Celebrating’ or ‘commemorating’ the Lewis and Clark expedition? Museum interpretive text as … text! Northwest American Studies Association Meetings. Endeley J., Ardener S., Goodridge R. and Lyonga, N. (eds) (2004) New Gender Studies from Cameroon and the Caribbean. Buea: University of Buea.
Fairclough, N. and Wodak, R. (1997) Critical Discourse Analysis. In T. van Dijk (ed.) Discourse as Social Interaction. London: Sage.
Fairclough, N. (2001) Critical Discourse Analysis as a method in social scienti? c research. In R. Wodak and M. Meyer (eds) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis 121–39. London: Sage.
Fairclough, N. (2003) Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. London: Routledge.
Fonchingong, C. C. (2005) Negotiating livelihoods beyond Beijing. International Social Sciences Journal 57(2): 243–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2451.2005.00548.x
Fondo, S. (2006) Engendering development: gender division of labour and women’s decision making power in rural households: the case of Cameroon retrieved November 16 2010 from www.codesria.org/Links/conferences/ general_assembly11/papers/sikod.pdf. CODESRIA.
German, L. (2006) Th eories of patriarchy. International Socialism http://www.isj. org.uk/?id=240 accessed 28th September 2011
Goheen, M. (1996) Men Own the Fields, Women Own the Crops: Gender and Power in the Cameroon Grass?elds. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Ilie, C. (2006) Parliamentary discourses. In K. Brown (ed.) Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics Vol. 9 188–97. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Elsevier.
Kiesling, S. F. (2005) Homo-social desire in men’s talk: balancing and re-creating cultural discourses of masculinity. Language in Society 34: 695–726. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0047404505050268
Kitetu, C. and Sunderland, J. (2000) Gendered discourse in the classroom: the importance of cultural diversity. In Gender Issues in Language Education. Th e Temple University of Japan Working Papers in Applied Linguistics 17: 26–40.
Konde, E. (2005) African Women and Politics: Knowledge, Gender and Power in Male-Dominated Cameroon. Portland: Edwin Mellen Press.
Lazar, M. (2005) Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lee, F. and Lin, A. M. Y. (2006) Newspaper editorial discourse and the politics of self-censorship. Discourse & Society 17(3): 331–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0957926506062371
Litosseliti, L. (2002) Head to head: the construction of morality and gender identity in newspaper arguments. In L. Litosseliti and J. Sunderland (eds.) Discourse Analysis and Gender Identity 129–48. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Mama, A. (2003) Restore, reform but do not transform: the gender politics of higher education in Africa. Journal of Higher Education in Africa 1(1): 101–25.
Mills, S. (2008) Language and Sexism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mills, S. (1997; 2000) Discourse (1st/2nd edn.). London: Longman.
Mills, S. (2002) Th ird wave feminism linguistics and the analysis of sexism and naming practices, Plenary paper, IGALA2. University of Lancaster, UK.
Mupotsa, D. S. (2007) An African feminist standpoint? Postamble 3(1): xi–xxiii.
Reisigl, M. and Wodak, R. (2001). Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetorics of Racism and Anti-Semitism. London: Routledge.
Shaw, S. (2000) Language, gender and ? oor apportionment in political debates. Discourse and Society 11(3): 401–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0957926500011003006
Sunderland, J. (2004) Gendered Discourses. Basingstoke: Palgrave. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9780230505582
Talbot, M. (1995) Fictions at Work: Language and Social Practice in Fiction. London: Longman.
Tannen, D. and Saville-Troike, M. E. (1985) Perspectives on Silence. Norwood: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
van Dijk, T. (1997) What is political discourse analysis?. Key-note address, Congress Political Linguistics. Antwerp, 7-9 December 1995. In J. Blommaert and C. Bulcaen (eds) Political Linguistics 11–52. Amsterdam: Benjamins
van Dijk, T. (2001) Multidisciplinary CDA: A plea for diversity. In R. Wodak and M. Meyer (eds) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis 95–120. London: Sage.
van Dijk, T. (2006) Discourse and manipulation. Discourse and Society 17(3): 359–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0957926506060250
van Dijk, T., and Wodak, R. (2000) Racism at the Top: Parliamentary Discourses on Ethnic Issues in Six European States. Klagenfurt: Drava Verlag.
van Leeuwen, T. (1996) Th e representation of social actors. In C. R. CaldasCoulthard and M. Coulthard (eds) Texts and Practices 32–70 London: Routledge.
van Leeuwen, T. and Wodak, R. (1999) Legitimising immigration control: a discourse- historical approach. Discourse Studies 1(1): 77–122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461445699001001005
Wagner, I. and Wodak, R. (2006) Performing success: strategies of self-representation in women’s biographical narratives. Discourse and Society 17(3): 385–411. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0957926506060251
Walsh, C. (2001) Gender and Discourse: Language and Power in Politics, the Church and Organisations. London: Longman.
Weiss, G. and Wodak, R. (2003) Critical Discourse Analysis: Theory and Interdisciplinarity. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Wodak, R. (2001) Th e discourse-historical approach. In R. Wodak and M. Meyer (eds) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis 63–94. London: Sage.
Wodak, R. (2003) Multiple identities: the roles of female parliamentarians in the EU parliament. In J. Holmes and M. Meyerho? (eds) Th e Handbook of Gender and Language 671–98. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wodak, R. (2005) Gender mainstreaming and the European Union: interdisciplinarity, gender and CDA. In M. Lazar (ed.) Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis 61–89. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Wodak, R. and Meyer, M. (2009) Critical discourse analysis: history, agenda, theory and methodology. In R. Wodak and M. Meyer (eds) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis 1–33. 2nd edition. London: Sage.
Published
2012-04-30
Issue
Section
Gender and Language in Sub-Saharan African Contexts: Research Agendas
How to Cite
Atanga, L. (2012). The discursive construction of a ‘model Cameroonian woman’ within the Cameroonian Parliament. Gender and Language, 6(1), 21-45. https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.v6i1.21
