Literature Review This chapter consists of two sections. Section 2.1 briefly explains basic definitions of sexism, sexism in language and sensitivity to sexism in English. Section 2.2 mainly reviews some valuable and related studies. 2.1 Basic definitions 2.1.1 Definitions of Sexism According to the Webster#8217;s Dictionary, sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on sex, especially the discrimination against women. It also relates to the behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, sexism is prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women on the basis of sex. According to the Longman Dictionary of the Contemporary English, sexism is the belief that one sex is weaker, less intelligent, or less important than the other, especially when this results in someone being treated unfairly. According to the Wikipedia, sexism or gender discrimination is prejudice or discrimination based on a person#8217;s sex or gender. Sexism can affect either gender, but it is particularly documented as affecting women and girls. It has been linked to stereotypes and gender roles, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is intrinsically superior to another. Extreme sexism may foster sexual harassment, rape, and other forms of sexual violence. It is commonly held that, in developed societies, women have been the usual victims. It is also believed that sexism functions to maintain patriarchy, or male domination, through ideology and material practices of individuals, collectives, and institutions that oppress women and girls on the basis of sex or gender. Sexism against women is more pervasive, but both men and women can experience sexism. People often show sympathy for ”the death of many innocent women and children” and ” wife and child abuse”, while ignore the men victims. In addition, boys are taught to be a man and shoulder the burden of supporting a family. Girls can be tomboys, but if a boy is too sissy, he will absolutely be laughed at. What#8217;s more, when people speak of a murder, killer or criminal, it seems quite sensible to relate them to men rather than women. There is no doubt that people today not only show contempt for women , but also treat men unfairly. In this thesis, sexism refers to the unjust treatment to both men and women. 2.1.2 Sexism in Language Sexism in language exists when language devalues members of a certain gender. Sexist language, in many instances, promotes male superiority. Sexism in language affects consciousness, perceptions of reality, encoding and transmitting cultural meanings and socialization. Several examples are shown as follows. First, it includes the use of generic masculine terms to reference a group of mixed gender, such as ”mankind”, ”man”(referring to humanity), ”guys”, or ”officers and men”. Second, it is quite common that people tend to use singular masculine pronoun (he, his, him) as the default to refer to a person of unknown gender, Third, terms ending in ”-man” that may be performed by those of non-male genders, such as businessman, chairman, or policeman. Fourth, the ordering of words in phrases like ”father and mother”, ”husband and wife” or ”boys and girls” is also a kind of sexism in language, Last but not least, the use of unnecessary gender markers, such as ”male nurse” implying that simply a ”nurse” is by default assumed to be female. Other than English, sexism exists in every language. Romanic languages#160;such as#160;French#160;and#160;Spanish#160;may be seen as reinforcing sexism, in that the masculine form is the default form. The word "mademoiselle", meaning "miss", was declared banished from French administrative forms in 2012 by Prime Minister#160;Fran#231;ois Fillon.#160;Current pressure calls for the use of the masculine plural pronoun as the default in a mixed-sex group to change.#160;As to Spanish, Mexico's Ministry of the Interior published a guide on how to reduce the use of sexist language. German#160;speakers have also raised questions about how sexism intersects with grammar.#160;The German language is heavily inflected for gender, number, and case; nearly all nouns denoting the occupations or statuses of human beings are gender-differentiated. For more gender-neutral constructions, gerund nouns are sometimes used instead, as this completely eliminates the grammatical gender distinction in the plural, and significantly reduces it in the singular. For example, instead of#160;die Studenten#160;("the men students") or#160;die Studentinnen#160;("the women students"), one writes#160;die Studierenden#160;("the [people who are] studying").#160;However, this approach introduces an element of ambiguity, because gerund nouns more precisely denote one currently engaged in the activity, rather than one who routinely engages in it as their primary occupation. In#160;Chinese, some writers have pointed to sexism inherent in the structure of written characters. For example, the character for man is linked to those for positive qualities like courage and effect while the character for wife is composed of a female part and a broom, considered of low worth. In a word, sexism in language is an offensive reminder of the way the culture sees women. With the awareness of gender equality raised in contemporary era, various feminist movements in the 20th century, from#160;liberal feminism#160;and#160;radical feminism#160;tostandpoint feminism,#160;postmodern feminism#160;and#160;queer theory#160;have all considered language in their theorizing.#160;Most of these theories have maintained a critical stance on language that calls for a change in the way speakers use their language. One of the most common calls is for gender-neutral language. Many have called attention, however, to the fact that the English language isn't inherently sexist in its linguistic system, but rather the way it is used becomes sexist and gender-neutral language could thus be employed. At the same time, other opposed critiques of sexism in language with explanations that language is a descriptive, rather than prescriptive, and attempts to control it can be fruitless. 2.1.3 Sensitivity to Sexism in English Sensitivity derives from sensitive. According to the Webster#8217;s dictionary, sensitive means to have or show concern for a specified matter. Also, according to Oxford Advanced Learner#8217;s English-Chinese Dictionary (2004), sensitive refers to how easily one reacts to things and how much one is aware of things or other people. In this study, sensitivity to sexism in English means one#8217;s awareness, understanding and abilities to react to sexism in English. 2.2 Related studies 2.2.1 Studies of sexism Longing for gender equality, feminists has never ceased to strive for their rights. At the same time, the study of sexism gains its popularity in different fields. Scholars of linguistics (e.g. Nilsen et al., 1977), scholars of psychology(e.g. Glick Fiske, 1996) and scholars of sociology (e.g. Liu et al., 2004) have already studied sexism from different perspectives. Many linguistic scholars hold the belief that sexism has its historical and religious tradition, believing that language is inherently sexist. Although these previous literature have nothing to do with people.#8217;s sensitivity to sexism in English, they indeed all have made contributions to and paved the way for future studies on the relationships of sexism and language. Some researchers have been devoting themselves to the origin and exemplification of linguistic sexism, while some others show great interest in putting forward constructive suggestions to soften the impact of gender discrimination. They call for a frequent use of non-sexist language(Nilsen et al., 1977; Miller Swift, 1980; Pauwels,1998; Parks Roberton, 2004) to show respect for women. This advancement gives guidance and is good for people to raise their awareness of linguistic sexism. Domestic researches of sexism mostly focus on the introduction of sexism overseas. They also probe into the phenomena of sexism in English in terms of morphology, syntax and semantics(e.g. Liu, 1992; Ma, 2002; Mo Jiang, 2006; Zhang 2011). A research carried out by sociological scholars Liu et al. (2004) examines the public#8217;s cognition of gender discrimination in China#8217;s labor market. The study reveals that women pay more attention to the sexism and occupational segregation, but there is no significant difference between females and males in sexism and sexual harassment. The study also concludes that the general public shows less concerns to different forms of sexism. Although it has nothing to do with sexism in language, it still offers a different perspective for researchers to do further studies on people#8217;s attitudes towards sexism. 2.2.2 Studies of people#8217;s sensitivity to sexism in English The subject of sexism in English is popular among both domestic and international scholars, but few studies of people#8217;s sensitivity to sexism in English have been conducted at home and abroad. Much more attention has been paid to the history and its development, or the lexical manifestations of sexism in language and the solutions to avoid using it, or what the detrimental impacts sexism will have on people and our society. The question that whether people are sensitive to sexism or not requires an urgent answer, otherwise people will never display great initiative to eliminating linguistics sexism.. Several researches have been carried out in this area. Some researchers focus on the experiences and perceptions of gender inequality by undergraduates at a British University with strong historical traditions(Morrison et al., 2005). Contrary to a ”post-feminist#8217; rhetoric stating that gender inequalities no longer exist in higher education in the UK, or at least not at an undergraduate level, their results of a questionnaire and interviews show that gender inequality does still persist in this institutional setting. They also found that students, particularly female students, showed strong reluctance to recognize or view this as unjust treatment. Instead, there was a tendency to downplay or deny such inequalities, and resistance to such matters being raised. Drawing on existing literature in the field, they suggest this might be a ”coping mechanism#8217;, as well as indicative of the ”post-feminist#8217; milieu. The paper then reflects on the implications of these findings, particularly for those seeking to address gender inequalities in such an institutional environment. Drawing on identity politics theory, as well as the authors' own activist experiences, they argue that while recognizing women as a discriminated group may promote gender differentiation, this may still go some way towards practically combating ”androcentric norms”. In a study conducted by Parks Roberton (2005), they use development and validation as an instrument to measure attitudes toward sexist/nonsexist language. This paper reports construction and validation of the 42-item Inventory of Attitudes Toward Sexist/Nonsexist Language (IASNL), which is based on a conceptual framework related to beliefs about language, recognition of sexist language, and willingness to use inclusive language. They find that despite documented, negative effects of sexist language, some people still strongly oppose inclusive language. Also, people#8217;s attitudes towards sexism in language at least in part stem from their attitudes towards women. Russo believes that a test on how men treat women can clearly explains their anticipation to the right. Greene Rubin find that compared to other students, girls who cannot enjoy the equal right with boys are more likely to believe in the sexism in language. Harrigan and Lucic argue that feminists are more willing to adopt non-sexist language. Moreover, scholars (e.g. Jensen Gutek, 1982; Mazer Percival, 1989; Brooks Perot, 1991; Swim Cohen, 1996; Swim Hyers, 1999) also conclude that women who are equipped with traditional attitudes that sexism is no longer a problem in society may be likely to label an event or a remark as sexist. It shows that sensitivity to sexism relies on a person#8217;s belief and outlook on the world. Kaiser Miller (2004) examine a stress and coping model in face of sexism. They argue that women may be sensitive to sexism but they tend to keep silent and pretend not to notice it when knowing or confronting sexism. The researcher Mei (2013) conduct an investigation on Chinese students#8217; sensitivity to sexism. A questionnaire with several passages of explicit sexism and implicit sexism is designed. Results show that students have limited sensitivity to sexism in English but are comparatively more sensitive to explicit sexism and less sensitive to implicit sexism. The participants are also not sensitive to the sexist assumptions and sexist presuppositions in English passages. He concludes that gender and specific social and cultural factors can have certain impacts on sensitivity to sexism in English. Literature review has shown that the studies of sensitivity to sexism in English are scanty, especially in China. Only a few scholars have touched upon this. Thanks to all the previous literature on sexism in different fields, however, scholars can make a lot more achievements on the foundation that they have laid. Further studies on the factors that influence people#8217;s perception to sexism and the status quo of people#8217;s present awareness of it should be carried out.