- Do you see heteronormativity at work via STEM fields? How?
- Cohen asks, “[h]ow do we use the relative degrees of ostracization all sexual/cultural ‘deviants’ experience to build a basis of unity for broader coalition and movement work?” What exactly does this look like?
- Is the use of voices that sound like women for digital assistants “linguistic terrorism” à la Anzalda?
28 thoughts on “#8”
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Introduction to Women's Studies 
3. à la Anzaldúa, she defines “linguistic terrorism” as a way to undervalue women by undervaluing one’s language, which in turns, undervalues them as a person. However, in the context of digital assistants predominantly having female names and voices, i don’t see the correlation between both arguments. For one, our digital assistants are just that – digital assistants and although we try to make them more human-like by anthropomorphizing it and giving it human names, assistants like “Siri”, “Cortana” and “Alexa” simply aren’t human, so the term, “linguistic terrorism” can’t apply to them. On the other hand, a reason why we tend to see female names and feminine vocal characteristics being applied to most AI assistants could be due to the fact that a majority of men and women respond better to the female vocal command. A reason for that could be due to the fact that as humans, we’re born and nurtured by women for most of our infantile and toddler years, so our first experience and interaction in the world is coming from a woman which, in itself could be an instinctual reaction or response, especially during those vulnerable years – inherently making the female voice more trustworthy. Hence, why companies like apple and samsung spend tens of millions of dollars conducting research to make their digital assistants more relatable and consumer friendly.
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1. Heteronormativity is seen at work via STEM fields through the use of stereotype threat. Stereotype threat “is a concern or anxiety that one’s performance or actions can be seen through the lens of a negative stereotype”(Shapiro 175). In STEM fields, a woman’s performance in math is greatly impacted by the negative stereotypes surrounding her math abilities. For example, girls are often discouraged by their parents and/or teachers to pursue a career in STEM fields solely because of their gender. In Danaher and Crandall’s analysis, high school female students who were asked to give an account of their gender upon taking the AP Calculus exam performed significantly lower than those who were asked to report their gender after. Although participants have an increased motivation to do well once placed in stereotype threatening conditions, higher motivation does not always mean a better score. A study conducted by Cadino et al., showed that “women experiencing stereotype threat were more likely to report negative math-related thoughts compared to women in a non-threat condition” (Shapiro 177). Due to such negative thoughts, women performed lower.
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3) According to google, linguistic terrorism is defined as “partisan misuse of language in. an effort to support an immediate political objective or viewpoint”.In this context, the use of female voices in technological advances would have to be because of cultural biases or a specific viewpoint towards women. However, in the article written by Adrienne Lafrance: “Siri, Cortana, Alexa: Why Do So Many Digital Assistants Have Feminine Names?” that is not the case because in the article, the points that show this as being true are all based on individual opinions and not facts/studies. This is evident when Clifford Nass, a Stanford communications professor states that “it’s a well-established phenomenon that the human brain is developed to like female voices” (Nass 2). This statement was based on a study and it would only make sense for a business to go with the studies that would pertain to the majority of the people since maximum revenue is the goal. In other terms, the article expresses many opinions in it that can not be deemed factual since there is no studies/proof behind them. This is evident when Adrienne Lafrance, refers to an article written by Kathleen Richardson in which Kathleen talks about men building the digital assistants and states that “I think that probably reflects what some men think about women-that they’re not fully human beings” (Richardson 5). Though the use of the words “I think” it is evident that this is an opinion and can not be deemed factual. This is an example of a complete hyperbole of an opinion since Kathleen jumps to a conclusion without showing any evidence of it. This shows that the use of women’s voices as digital assistances is not based on “linguistic terrorism” but on studies that pertain to the majority of the people and would bring in the highest revenue stream in comparison to having a male voice behind them.
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Yes, heteronormativity is at work in the STEM fields because both men and women are fall into categories that society feels would be most suitable for them based on their gender. This is shown within the STEM fields because women are naturally threatened by stereotypes that make them seem incapable of having a profession in technology, or engineering rather than a diploma in the arts. Women are constantly reminded throughout their life by parents, teachers, and other people within society that their gender should not be interested or are less likely to be interested in the STEM fields which forces them to conform to other fields that people claim are more suitable for them. In the article “The Role of Stereotype Threats in Undermining Girls’ and Women’s Performance and Interest in STEM Fields” authors Jenessa Shapiro and Amy Williams discuss how women are taught from a young age that science and math were primarily for boys which hindered the interest in the STEM fields as they got older and the stereotypes influence women’s career aspirations. The article states that “Specifically, considering the phenomenon of stereotype threat can lead to an understand- ing of how stereotypes can undermine women’s and girls’ performance and interest in STEM domains even when women and girls have positive math attitudes.” (Shapiro, Williams 175). This quote explains how heteronormativity effects women attitudes towards the STEM fields because they are constantly being stereotypes and talked out of it even if they show interest in the field. Heteronormativity is relevant through discrimination of gender in education, stereotypes, and unfair recognition of women’s interests in the math and science fields.
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1. An OP-ED in the New York Times titled “Why is Science so Straight” talks about how heternormativity is very present in STEM fields, citing a 2015 estimate that a large portion of the workforce in STEM is closeted. The author, Manil Suri, contends that scientific workplace is seen as an extremely neutral atmosphere, where personal expression is often suppressed. Often the STEM atmosphere overlooks the value or need for diversity, seeing it as a non-issue. So, many LGBTQ people choose to not share their identities at work. Perhaps this unwelcoming atmosphere leads not only LGBTQ people to steer clear of STEM but also women. A Harvard Business Review Study called “The 5 Biases Pushing Women out of STEM” talks about different problems and barriers that women face in STEM, especially among women of color. One of them which I find interesting is what they call the “maternal wall”, meaning that when women give birth, their competence as well as their commitment to their job is questioned. They also might feel like they are competing with their coworkers, whose wives are often stay at home moms. I can see how this sort of bias would feed into the norm that straight men in society should go to work to earn money for the family, and anyone who steps outside of the roles prescribed by heteronormativity does not have a place in STEM. This is especially unfortunate to me because I would think that there is so much untapped potential among groups who have faced barriers to STEM fields. While I do not have any firsthand experience where I saw heternormativity at work in the STEM workplace (just because I don’t have a job in a STEM field), I would think that because the STEM workforce is majority male, and that the STEM workplace has not been the most welcoming for LGBTQ people and women, this means that heteronormativity has successfuly influenced the STEM fields.
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The concept of heteronormativity is seen in the STEM fields through the stereotype threat. Women, in the eyes of society, have very limited capabilities and many men and women believe that certain subject such as math and science are beyond a woman’s capabilities. Women are brought up to believe that they are only capable of right-brain ways of thinking and those are the type of career paths they should take. The article states ” For example, women subtly reminded of their gender report less interest in math fields compared to arts-oriented fields”(Shapiro, williams ). From the start women are discouraged from engaging in STEM field interests and that forced disinterest affects the amount of women seen in the STEM fields. Women’s beliefs that the lack of their ability to perform well in math and science fields come from the mere fact that they are women. “However, when participants were told the test had shown gender differences, women performed significantly worse on the test compared to men” ( Shapiro, williams). By the way women are raised their gender plays against them from the moment they’re born and that translates into the lack of women in the STEM fields.
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1. Heteronormativity is at work via stem fields. Women and girls are at risk for stereotypical threats which is ” a concern or anxiety that one’s performance or actions can be seen through the lens of negative stereotype”(Shapiro 175). Parents and teachers’ negative stereotypes about women’s math abilities negatively affect how women view stem fields(science, technology, engineering, and math) and weakens their performance. It even affects women who have positive attitudes toward math. An example of stereotype threats affecting girls’ performance is the following. Fifteen year old german students took a math test and half of them were informed that the test had gender differences in the past. That was considered the stereo-type threat condition. The other half were informed that the test did not show the differences. That was considered the no-threat condition. In the group of students who learned there were gender differences, the girls scored much worse than boys and in the other group, the scores of the girls and boys did not vary. Women are affected the same way in the stem fields. Their performance is weakened because of the perceived stereotypes of their gender concerning their abilities to work in the stem fields.
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Heteronormativity is at work via STEM fields. In the society, we live in today women working in the STEM field is something that’s not normal. The problem with this is that it’s stereotypical among women because people tend to believe that women can’t do what men are doing when they most certainly can. This stereotype effect makes women feel less of themselves educationally; they believe their math skills are not up to par. It’s a societal standing that only men work towards the STEM field which is not the case but some women accept the stereotype. “One’s performance has the possibility of confirming, in one’s own mind, that the stereotype is true” (Shapiro 179). The more the label continues to be shown the more women believe that it is true.
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3) Linguistic Terrorism is defined as a misuse of language, and according to Anzaldúa, “it is an attack on individuals to shape what is acceptable and what is not, which also creates hierarchy.”. Anzaldúa expresses that language shapes an individual as well as the environment around them. Regarding whether or not a woman’s voice applied to a digital assistant is terrorism, I believe it is not. Anzaldúa aims to promote the acceptance of all languages, this does not apply to using a digital assistant. In fact, if anything, digital assistants also promote the acceptance of all languages. Assistants such as Siri and Cortana are continually learning new languages in order to be able to communicate to a larger demographic. This supports to use of all languages. Using a woman’s voice to provide a digital assistant for consumers is not equivalent to misuse of language or even attacking a language. The intent of digital assistants is not at all to misuse language, rather it’s to help the consumer for their personal needs regardless of what language that assistant may be speaking. Therefore, simply because you assign a womans voice to a product such as a digital assistant to make it more compelling to a consumer, it does signify that the use of this is linguistic terrorism.
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Yes, heteronormativity can be seen at work via STEM fields, it is seen through the stereotype threat. As stated in “The Role of Stereotype Threats in Undermining Girls’ and Women’s Performance and Interest in STEM Fields,” stereotype threat is concern or anxiety that one’s performance or actions can be seen through the lens of a negative stereotype. (Shapiro 175). In society, a woman’s ability is seen to be very limited and the STEM fields are beyond these women’s ability. Women are reminded by peers, teachers, parents, and others throughout society that they should not be interested in STEM fields, and that it is a field where men belong. The article explains that science and math were what boys are interested in, which eventually pushed majority of women away from those careers and those interest throughout life. Because of society’s judgments there is a lack of women in the STEM fields, the women could have an interest in any of the STEM branches (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) they are less likely to go into that field because of their gender and the stereotypes that go with their gender.
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According to Anzaldua, linguistic terrorism is an attack on individuals to shape what is acceptable and what is not, which forms a social hierarchy. Using women’s voices for digital assistant is linguistic terrorism. People are conditioned to expect women, not men to be in administrative roles. In fact, Mortensen used the name Amy Ingram for his company that helps schedule appointments, he actually named it after his actual real-life assistant, don’t know whether she felt a bit offended or honored. Women are seen are just mere assistants like servants. Men prefer a woman’s voice rather a man’s because women are more “warmer” while men are seen as more “authoritative”. Women voices are seen as non-powerful because people want the voice to fade in the background while focusing on just getting the information (Hempel). Consumers want their technology to help them out, but still at the same time, be the boss of it. Women are stereotypically have their position in the company they work for as the secretary or the assistant not a higher position like a CEO. A woman’s voice should not be connected to a digital assistant, it reflects what some men think of women, they’re not fully human beings (Hempel). Women are not disposable items and can not be replaced, we are equal human beings and a woman’s voice should not be the default to our voice assist systems on our phones, cars, etc.
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Yes. I absolutely believe you still see heteronormativity at work via STEM fields. Both men and women are put into different categories in our society, they always have and unfortunately always will be. Many men and women, parents and teachers believe that STEM fields categories such as science, math, technology, engineering and medicine do not fit into the category of women’s capabilities. The negative stereotype on women not being as efficient in these courses weakens and affects women’s ability to perform well in those courses. “Ones performance has the possibility of confirming, in ones own mind, that the stereotype is true.” Women will continue to do poorly in classes such as these if our society does not stop with the with the negative outlook on how women do in those classes. I strongly believe women will do better in such courses if they are given the encouragement. I also believe that women are most definitely becoming more efficient in these courses than years ago. From personal experience some of the smartest people I know are women in medicine/engineering STEM fields.
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Linguistic terrorism as defined by Gloria Anzaldua is when a person has to speak a certain way or in a specific accent to match the expectations of the environment or society. For instance, when one speaks Spanish in a Spanish-favored environment or speaks English in an English-speaking environment. Anzaldua illustrates that Chicano accent is a mix between Spanish and Mexican dialects and thus it does not fit in one category. This could be related to the use of voices that sound like women for digital assistants because it may show that women are subordinates and assistants to males instead of being equal. However, when choosing the voices of features such as digital assistants, many factors are considered. First, companies, such as Google, Microsoft or Apple conduct a lot of research about the psychology behind their technology so they can have the technology that best relates to the consumers before presenting it to the public. This is demonstrated in “Siri and Cortana Sound Like Ladies Because of Sexism” by Jessi Hempel, as she states, “In a 2011 paper, they reported that both women and men said female voices came across as warmer. In practice, women even showed a subconscious preference for responding to females; men remained subconsciously neutral. “Men will say they prefer female speech, and women really do prefer it,” MacDorman says.” The results of this research show that people preferred female voice because it is “warmer” and this could be due to how female voice is usually soft and this could be related to how people might prefer a soft voice over a masculine one. Another issue is that any research conducted is not without errors and not every research is reliable and thus it may not have showed the full representation of whether males actually prefer female voices over male voices. Some males might prefer male voices because they could relate to the voice and females might have “subconsciously” preferred female voices because they feel that the voice is more relatable than a male voice. Therefore, companies do whatever fits the interests of the public in order to make their technology accepted by as many people as possible and thus get the most profit.
Also, as mentioned in the same article, “A good voice user interface is one that doesn’t draw attention to itself. Pal explains that if the voice itself is distracting, your brain is going to have a harder time concentrating on the actual message.” Therefore, when choosing the voices of Siri or Cortana, companies pick the most un-distracting voice that would not make the person think about why the voice sounds this way. Some companies tried to solve the issue of preference of female voice over male voice, by adding the feature that an individual can use to change from female voice to male voice. In “Why Do So Many Digital Assistants Have Feminine Names?” by Adrienne Lafrance, the author states, “Perhaps I should note here that Siri doesn’t always default to a female-sounding voice; if you switch Siri’s language to United Kingdom English, for instance, it switches to male.” In addition, recently, for iOS 7, Apple added the feature of switching between female and male voices. Overall, companies pick the voice feature based on the majority preference of the consumers without regard to sexism because they are only looking for profit. Thus, if making the digital voice female only or both female and male would get them more profit, they would choose to make both so they could get the majority of the people to purchase their products and as a result, using women voices for digital assistants does not relate to linguistic terrorism.
Resources:
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-change-siris-voice-on-ios-7/
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3. Using the voice of women for digital assistants is linguistic terrorism a la Anzaldua . On Anzaldua’s Foundation website, they state that “linguistic terrorism is an attack on individuals to shape what is acceptable and what is not, which also creates a hierarchy.” This attack is done based on how a person speaks and relating that to who they are as a person. The fact that the voice of women is constantly used by many companies due to the fact that it sounds “warm” (According to the studies done at the Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing). This can also be proven by the audio played in class where people judged women by the way they talked and sounded (Ex: valley girls, the way women sound like they are posing a question at the end of every sentence).
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Gloria Anzaldua was a female activist. She aimed at speaking out for women. She wrote an essay called “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” She termed use of digital assistants as Linguistic Terrorism. The point of acquiring a digital assistance is to let it do something for you. This gives the owner the opportunity to boss it around. The idea behind creation of digital assistants that have female voices can be determined by how the society views women. The society views women as administrators making the digital assistants have a female voice. Furthermore it is easier to find a female voice everyone likes than a male voice everyone likes. Researches indicate that people respond better to orders that have been given by a female voice than a male voice. However, even some of the most destructive technologies have been given female names. It is a way of showing objectification of women by men. This is because men are mainly the ones building the digital assistants. Anzaldua states that Linguistic terrorism aims at attacking specific individuals to shape the unacceptable into being acceptable. Even though women voices may seem objectified, they are often viewed more trustworthy than male voices
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Linguistic Terrorism is present in digital assistant because it creating a society that protest women are meant to be gentle and warm. Including Docile Bodies: Due to this Patriarchal system these labels are in effect because majority of technology is own or operated by heteronormativity. Created a stereotype that objectify gender specific inferences which questions roles of women set by man universal. To set these labels of who they are because language shapes an identity.
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Reference to Docile bodies correlates to Robotic functions that woman are easy to control because we’re innately nurturing and caring in theory.
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The society we live in is impacted by so many norms that it is expected for the people to follow them. One such norm is that women are expected to regulate/manage all roles, whether it be running errands or doing household work. In the digital world we live in, women’s voices are used for digital assistants because in a way, women are expected to be the “assistants”. On a positive note, it has been also shown that a female’s voice is more pleasing than men’s voice to most of the people. Even though this is regarded as something postitive in terms of the technological role, I consider it to be “linguistic terrorism” because women are forced to percieve themselves in a way that everyone agrees to. Lingustic Terrorism is a way in which one threatens to those who do not speak a common language. SInce women are objectified and expected to follow certain roles, they become vulnerable to linguistic terrorism. In a way, advanced techologies send out indirect messages about women inferiority or sexism. Therefore, digital assistants depict that linguistic terrorism does exist and that, women are suspectible to follow a “common language” as it is how they are identified as by the society.
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1. Heteronormativity is seen in STEM-related work through stereotype threats. In “The Role of Stereotype Threats in Undermining Girls’ and Women’s Performance and Interest in STEM Fields” by Jenessa R. Shapiro explains that a “stereotype threat is a concern or anxiety that one’s performance or actions can be seen through the lens of a negative stereotype… a concern that disrupts and undermines performance in negatively stereotyped domains” (175). In her piece, Shapiro explains how in one study each subject was told whether the test they were taking had gender differences Women who were told, had significantly lower scores compared to men. This relates to women in STEM related subject like math, engineering, etc. because women tend to underperform when put in stereotype threatening situations in those fields. When women are put in those situations they are reminded of the societal stereotype that women aren’t as good as men in those fields.
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3. In my opinion the use of voices that sound like women for digital assistance is considered “linguistic terrorism”. Its considered “linguistic terrorism because society is shaping an image for women, in which women are seen as only assistance and nothing more. In other words society is making it seem like it’s only acceptable for women to be a helper to someone rather than the leader. Companies using voices that sound like women for digital assistance also make women look weaker. Their have been studies that show men and women tend to want a women’s voice because it’s seen as warmer. In the text “Siri And Cortona Sound Like Ladies Because Of Sexism” by Jessi Hempel says, “In a 2011 paper, they reported that both women and men said female voices came across as warmer”(Hempel,1). This shows that because both genders see women voices as warmer, they are devaluating women and making it seem like their too kind and no one will take them serious. Also now women are seen as a helping hand to sell these technology base items. Hempel says, “And the brand managers and product designers tasked with developing voices for their company’s are trying to reach the largest number of costumers”. Since people respond positively to women’s voices, these company’s use women to pull in costumers that they know will buy the product. So basically women are seen as a way to bring the company more money. Both these examples link back to “linguistic terrorism” because they demonstrate how in the eyes of society women are only accepted as an assistant. A women’s voice not only helps company’s get costumers but also to make more money in the long run.
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1.) According to Dictionary.com, heteronormative means relating to behavior or attitudes consistent with traditional male or female gender roles. In the culture that we live in today people assume that there is this template that every one is suppose to adhere to and these assumptions continue to run certain work fields. For example, in the article by Jenessa R. Shapiro and Amy M. Williams it expressed on multiple accounts why girls and women feel threatened to pursue positions in the STEM fields, “… shaping girls’ math attitudes and ultimately undermining performance and interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields” (Shapiro, Williams 175). Women from a young age are forced into this mentality that they are not smart enough or that they are too sensitive to partake in positions that have high responsibility, or that the STEM field is a man’s arena due to the fact that he is able to express a sense of high confidence due to his gender. Heteronormativity is seen at work via STEM fields due to the fact that women are not encouraged to view mathematics or engineering as their field of study from multiple people from the life, such as the ones who are teaching the material to them. This disbelief towards a women’s ability in the STEM field is a constant struggle that is being faced and it is shown to be false as women continue to strive in these fields as we speak.
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3. Linguistic terrorism According to Azaldua is being judge according to your voice in her article “How to tame a wild tongue” she explains how she feels towards a connection between language and identity. How been judge by the way you talk is messed up. Her Definition for “linguistic terrorism” is an attack on individuals to shape what is acceptable and what is not. Her main idea is that we need to accept everyone no matter their language or accents. In my Opinion when they think that using women voice is acceptable because we women are more likely to be the ones helping and being demand on what to do meaning they can be our bosses on the other hand they cant do that with man voices because he is a man and society looks at it has it has more authority. Another point of view is that they might see us like assistants rather than real human been that’s why they made it a female maybe they don’t see that difference between us and a digital assistant. Judging us because we sound warmer is not good we might have a different type of voice but that doesn’t classify us like assistants or helpers.
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Heteronormativity is defined “as the belief that people fall into distinct and complementary genders with natural roles in life.” I see heteronormativity at work via STEM fields in the fact that STEM fields are considered more “masculine,” and that women, by gender are viewed as unfit for STEM fields. “Gunderson et al. (2011) detail how negative stereotypes about women’s math abilities are transmitted to girls by their parents and teachers, shaping girls’ math attitudes and ultimately undermining performance and interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.” (Shapiro/Williams 1). Heteronormativity is the reason as to why women perform worse in STEM fields because of the stereotypical norms of society. By constantly putting a domestic stereotype on women, fields as abstract as STEM become much less appealing to women, for they are expected to perform much worse in them as compared to men, especially when gender is brought up.
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1.) Yes there is definitely heteronormativity in STEM fields. In the these STEM fields researchers have found that stereotypes in these fields are now becoming norms and threatening the potential of those who are labeled with these stereotypes. The major stereotypes the article claims is that women preform poorly on math test because of their gender, and with that mind set it is seen as something normal because now it is just expected them to do poorly. Same thing goes for Asian people. There’s a normativity that they will do well on a math test because of their race and often times will fulfill their own stereotype. So now when we think of these subjects of science, technology, engineering, and math, without even thinking we tend to match people with these subjects and who will do well and who will do poorly. The stereotype even hits me sometimes as well, people see the brown skin and the glasses and automatically think I have all A’s in my classes when in reality they are just matching the stereotype that is associated with me. Even when we attach these stereotypes like doing poor on a exam and do the opposite in the end result, it comes clear to see that we let these stereotypes devour us and make it our identity especially when it comes to preforming in these fields. We do not try to excel and break these norms and stereotypes but rather already predict what the outcome will be.
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Heteronormativity is serviced in STEM programs because of stereotype threats that undermines women intellectual capabilities. According to Shapiro, stereotype threats are negative appearances (175) which states one race or identity is marginalized or not as significant as mainstream standards and norms. In example , African Americans performance will decrease because their are labels of Blacks are not education enough and other social disadvantages; Schools Employment and Social Welfare) This norm of sexism is at work. Gender roles define by man is law
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3. Linguistic terrorism is an attack on ones’ language to shape what is favorable or acceptable. The use of voices for digital assistance is linguistic terrorism because it creates the idea that one similar sounding vocal is more powerful than others. There is a correlation between vocal sound and age which demands or overthrow the importance of the message being delivered. For example, hearing children voices assume they are lacking knowledge to give affirmative direction so no one sees the seriousness , so often children vocals are meant for children viewers. Same can be said for societies acceptance of wisdom in older women vs younger women. There is a stereotype that older women have more vocal fry which sticks to authorativity. Even though younger women can have raspy voices as well. Young women are thought to be annoying or distracting. The point I’m trying to make in this example is that age selection engages certain audiences, which in turn makes companies a lot of money because putting children or young adults is less likely in these big companies such as Apple because no one will take them serious and they would lose customers. On the other hand, linguistic terrorism limits diversity in a society by having a sound preference and digital assistance shows how a correlation is made between human women and digital women. Which is the role of the women to listen to the male figure and abide or explain what is being asked. The role of administration is common to the human women who often become assistance to men either in the workplace, marriage, or a maid. Lastly Clifford Nass, according to the field of communications, “women’s voices are preferred because their voice are seen as helpful and men as authorative”. This quote strengthens my argument which brings me back to the idea of the separation of powers between men and women that have been embedded in our way of life dating back to the beginning when women were fighting to be heard versus now they are heard when being questioned which still limits women sound because they are to speak when asked to speak, so putting value on a specific sound is definitely linguistic terrorism because it sounds like a white women which have underlying concepts of who should be heard and who should not be heard , and overall women should follow and men should lead. Adding on to that thought this concludes that white women vocals supersedes all ages and are highly favorable and acceptable to listen to this is definitely linguistic terrorism when thinking of the preference of vocals for digital assistance and how the fight to be heard through the first waves of feminism being white women only.
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Based on the article, heteronormativity is very present based on the research and findings. This affects the field of stem study because women in particular become discouraged to study any subjects in the STEM field. How this occurs is through a stereotype threat, meaning women become scared to take risks or feel comfortable with themselves. For example, girls who were asked their gender before taking their AP calculus exam scored 33% lower than girls who did not include their sex. According to the article, women become severely affected by stereotype threat by hindering a girl’s performance on their exam and negatively influencing their career aspirations. In depth, the multi-threat framework features self as a source threat stereotype, meaning these low test exams will make girls believe they can not perform the subject because they lack the ability. Firstly, self as a source stereotype will cause people to believe they do not have the skills required as a woman feel when they did not score as high on their Calculus exam. Secondly, other as a source stereotype threat will tie into the failed test because this theory states low performance will cause fear in which others will treat you in a bad manner. This will shape how a person perceives their capability in STEM subjects, especially women because they believe they will not be qualified. For example, a girl who thinks her teachers and parents do not hold her academic capabilities as high as they would for a male will impact negatively within the Stem field.
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I do not believe that the use of voices that sound like women for digital assistants is a form of “linguistic terrorism” a la Anzaldua. Anzaldua believed that the way in which someone talks expresses who they are and is the factor that molds their identity. Also she believes that language is something that not only has the effect of shaping who someone is but also their environment. But how does Anzaldue define “linguistice terrorism”, she defines it as when a critique of how one’s way of speaking criticizes who the individual is. Now the voice of a real woman and the voice of a female digital assistance are two different things. I female voice being used for as a digital assistant cannot be a form of “linguistic terrorism” because it is not intended to criticize the way in which women speak and therefore degrade women’s positions in society. Instead digital women’s voices are meant to be more “trustworthy” (Lafrance 1). This was based on a 2012 survey in “Why Do So Many Digital Assistants Have Feminine Names?” by Adrienne Lafrance. So if women’s voices are more trusted then why is the use of their voices viewed by some as a form degrading the hierarchy of women in society. It is because some view women in society as looked upon as mainly only valuable for help when this perception is false and wrong. Women serve in a variety of positons in society and their social assimilation will remain unchanged even with these new digital assistants.
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