Effects of Gendered Linguistic Style in Twitter: Do Older Stereotypical Attributions Persist in Social Media?

• In Event: Using Language to Evoke Identity, Power, and Stereotypes

Abstract

Since Lakoff (1973) purported that women tend to use certain linguistic features more than men, scholars have focused on the extent to which such features can lead to stereotypic impressions of status differences in power. Although studies carried out nearly four decades ago corroborated these impressions, to date there are no similar studies in the context of the ‘new’ social media. The present work tested the effects of gender-linked linguistic style on social evaluations of male/female targets in Twitter. An experiment presented a male-female leader of a NGO in Twitter using a masculine- feminine linguistic style to be rated by male or female participants. The male-masculine style target was perceived as more credible than the other combinations by all participants. Conversely, an indirect effect of the male-masculine style target on the likelihood of raters to support him and his organization through credibility was found. These results are thoughtfully discussed.

Authors

• Salvador Alvidrez, Political Communication Lab (LACOP)

• Oziel Franco, U Autónoma de Nuevo León

• Carlos Muniz, U Autónoma de Nuevo León