The linguistic construction of gender: Masculinity and femininity in Arabic grammar

Studies of gender have generally focused on the relationship between men and women within the context of social reality, rather than the construction of gender through language. This paper thus explores how language, specifically Arabic, contributes to the construction of gender and how the intersection of text and context shapes understandings of gender. The study reveals that Arabic words and sentences connote specific masculine and feminine identities that influence the social construction of gender. Texts provide spaces for the relationships between men and women to be discussed, and language influences their dynamics. This paper concludes that gender relations not only influence social reality, but also textual reality. As such, an understanding of social reality necessitates an understanding of the text. This paper thus emphasizes the importance of analytically linking language with social reality and framing language as a reflection of social reality.