Street remarks, address rights and the urban female: Socio-linguistic politics of gender in Harare

Abstract

This article explores and descriptionbes the socio-linguistic and cultural features of street remarks that take place between unacquainted people in the streets of Harare. Concern here is the male-to-female remarks. It seems that women receive more, and more vigorous, markers of public passage than men and they are less frequently the originators of such communicative markers. We argue that the markers are purposeful or intentional and that they are motivated by linguistic, socio-cultural and historical gender stereotypes and ideological constructs.