call for ethnographic investigation of justice and care in language and gender research

Abstract

This paper argues for an ethnographic approach to the study of principles of justice and care in language and gender research. My focus is on language practices in two basic human socialites: children’s peer groups and the family. By examining interactions in the everyday lives of peers and in families, the creativity with which humans orchestrate their everyday activities becomes visible. I problematise two prominent ideas put forward by psychologists that have influenced studies of gender and language for some time: Jean Piaget’s (1965[1932]) writings about children’s games and Carol Gilligan’s (1982) ideas about a ‘different voice’ among women.