Stereotypical Roles and Sexist Language: A Feminist Stylistic Study of Selected Fictions of Sidhwa and Hamid

Abstract

The present study attempts to explore the feminist stylistic analysis of stereotypical roles and sexist language in Sidhwa’s An American Brat (1993) & Hamid’s Exit West (2017). The objective of this study is to investigate linguistic items to unpack the sexism in language and gender roles in the selected novels. The qualitative approach is utilized in this study. The research’s data comprises words, phrases, or sentences, and discourses that express gender in the chosen novels. The data is analyzed by the researchers using the three-level analysis model proposed by Mills (1995). The study’s findings demonstrate that while Hamid’s Exist West promotes non-traditional gender roles by portraying Nadia as a pragmatic and rational character, Sidhwa’s An American Brat exhibits gender stereotyping through the characters of Zareen and Cyrus. Because of this stereotyping, sexism is frequently applied to the female gender in Sidhwa’s selected work and sparingly in Hamid’s chosen fiction. By increasing future scholars’ awareness of the part language plays in upholding or challenging gender norms, this feminist study will broaden their perspectives while stimulating their minds to a certain enlightenment that can snap the chains of gender stereotyping.