What are the important contextual features of this text?
The context of the text is Jennifer Lawrence responding to the leaked news by expressing her opinion after the Sony incident when she found out she earned significantly less than her male co-star workers. At the beginning, Lawrence presents her uncertainty on the topic of feminism: ''When it comes to the subject of feminism, I've reminded ever so-slightly quiet.'' According to her she does not like when the topic is 'trending' which is the reason she did not speak about feminism before. However after the incident, she finally decided to share her opinion with everyone and stand up for herself as well as other women who may not have equal job opportunities or those who may be treated unfairly. ''I don't think I'm the only woman with this issue. Are we socially conditioned to behave this way?'' The rhetorical question and personal appeal, makes the readers think that due to the stereotypes women are being treated less favourably than men. Therefore Lawrence wants to make everyone aware that they have equal rights and should be treated and respected equally.
Comment on the 'male' and 'female' language features in this text. What is their effect on the reader?
Throughout the text I can detect the mixture of trends of male and female language which are part of Lakoff's ideas of the deficit model. Jennifer Lawrence used several swear words such as f**k and a**hole to express her anger on this issue. However these words may simply belong to her every day speech and be a part of her idiolect. The use of swear words might make some readers think that Lawrence has a lack of politeness and it could result in people starting to dislike her since the way she speaks is not ladylike. According to Lakoff's theory, males swear more than females yet in this case it is very arguable as Lawrence clearly contradicted it. Lawrence did not express any sense of humour whatsoever, which supports Lakoff's idea on the female language. However this could have been done on purpose, because she wanted to get her point across and make it easy to understand for every reader. Therefore this can cause a slight confusion for us readers, as we don't exactly know whether the lack of humour was intended. Lawrence did not use any tag questions, empty adjectives or hedges which presents that she did not entirely followed Lakoff's ideas of female language. This might make readers think that this text was against Lakoff's theory as most of the features were not supported by it. I completely agree with this assumption as most of the Lakoff's female theories have not been covered in this piece.
Do you agree with her conclusion?
I do agree with Lawrence's conclusion, because she stood up for herself and shared her honest opinion with the entire world. ''I'm over trying to find the 'adorable' way to state my opinion and still be likeable! f**k that.'' Lawrence presented her bravery and power by saying that all she wants is to get her point across even if this would mean loosing fans. She also expressed her regret and disappointment with her previous actions.''I'm sure they were commended for being fierce and tactical, while I was busy worrying about coming across as a brat and not getting my fair share''. Rather than being angry at the studio for paying her less, she was angry at herself for not being a tough enough negotiator. The reason why Lawrence used this tough and manly language throughout the text, was to present her anger on treating women unfairly and possibly show her personal change, which is 'fighting' for what she deserves.
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