Primary Research Results

From the initial primary research just within my class it clear that there are many more names that women are called in comparison to men, and when i began to look at this collection of responses more closely are extremely objectifying. Below are some of the responses and the connotations of these words.

blossom, petal, flower; fragile & delicate

sweetie, honey, treacle; sweet, sugary things

princess, angel, tinker-bell; found in children's films/fairy tales

baby, doll, babe, baby girl, poppet; helpless, small, delicate, innocence 

chicken, pet, kitten, chick, duck, bird and hen; small animals/domestic pets 

Whilst collecting these results, i asked the women how they felt about being called these words, the majority did not have a problem being called these words if they knew the person eg a family member or friend, however they felt uncomfortable with strangers calling them these words; especially once they had the chance to think about the names they're called and the connotations surrounding these words.

The above words used to describe females are objectifying and are all big about ideas of innocence, fragility, helplessness and sweetness. The next step in this research is to see where these words originated from and why men are referred to as lads, bros, dudes and brothers which aren't objectifying where as for women it's the complete opposite.