Semantic Transformations of Lexeme ‘Gender’ in English
https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2025-14-9-143-160
Abstract
This article conducts a comprehensive diachronic analysis of the semantic transformations of the lexeme ‘gender’ within the English. The relevance of this study lies in its exploration of the linguocognitive mechanisms that have elevated the term to the status of a key concept, fostering a wide array of interdisciplinary research and becoming a significant ideological tenet within the framework of neoliberal values. It is argued that the newly ideologized meaning of the term arises from the artificial incorporation of the semantic feature of social construction of gender while diminishing the relevance of its biological nature. The notion of ‘gender’ is posited as a quasi-term based on its relative alignment with the ontology of the object it denotes. The article illustrates how the excessive proliferation of ideas surrounding the necessity for individuals to consciously choose their gender identity generates contexts in which the term is used ironically. The shift from a binary opposition of ‘male / female’ to a multiplicity of gender identities is interpreted as one manifestation of a broader trend toward deconstruction and transgression in postmodern philosophy. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that in everyday discourse, the word ‘gender’ functions as a politically correct equivalent of the noun ‘sex’, undergoing processes of determinologization and deideologization.
About the Authors
T. M. Shkapenko
Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Tatiana M. Shkapenko - Doctor of Philology, Professor, Institute of Humanities.
Kaliningrad
O. V. Dudurich
Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Olga V. Dudurich - Postgraduate Institute of Humanities.
Kaliningrad
R. F. Abdullaev
Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Royal F. Abdullaev - Postgraduate Institute of Humanities.
Kaliningrad
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For citations:
Shkapenko T.M., Dudurich O.V., Abdullaev R.F. Semantic Transformations of Lexeme ‘Gender’ in English. Nauchnyi dialog. 2025;14(9):143-160. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2025-14-9-143-160
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