Linguistic Analysis
In an article in the journal American Speech, linguist Edwin Battistella analyzes the development of the expression from ironic mockery of bodybuilding culture to an overt connotation of weakness and a covert connotation of effeminacy. He writes:
- In all this usage, girly-man is implicitly contrasted with such terms as
- he-man, macho-man, or manly man. These terms bring together images of
- physique, strength, courage, and will in an image of comic-book manliness.
- The controlling male stereotype is that of the muscular action-hero male as
- manly and of other men (non–weight lifters, nonmacho straight men, gays)
- as lacking courage, strength, and decisiveness. As critics of the usage pointed
- out, referring to someone as a girly-man requires adopting this stereotype as
- an instrument of either humor or derogation. And it further entails adopting
- the complementary stereotype that women are not so strong or decisive
- as men.
Contrasting the expression "girly girl" with "girly man," Battistella suggests that in the former the adjective intensifies the stereotype present in the noun, while in the while the latter the adjective is negate components of the stereotype to produce a range of derisive meanings.
Read more about this topic: Girlie Men
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