HELLINGER AND BUBMANN’S PATTERNS OF SEXISM IN THE LANGUAGE OF NOLLYWOOD MOVIES

Abstract

This study investigated sexist expressions in the language of Nollywood characters with theobjective of finding out the meaning of a sexist expression, forms of sexist expressions usedby the characters, and how the language used in the movies discriminate against women. Itadopted Hellinger and Bubmann’s (2001, 2003) patterns of sexism in human language byexamining three patterns: referential gender, false gender, and social gender in the language ofNollywood characters. This study used qualitative approach and the populations were themovies while the samples were the sexist expressions. The data were gathered from sixNollywood movies between the year 2016 and 2020 (Moth to a Flame, Mr Perfect, Dark Heart,Win a Heart, Tailor My Heart and Loving Ellen) using observation and note-taking techniques.The results revealed that these patterns are common in Nollywood movies and are mostly usedby the males. The findings also demonstrated the extent to which this language can discriminateagainst women.