Representing “traditional” and “progressive” women in Greek television: The role of “feminine”/“masculine” speech styles in the mediation of gender identity construction

SynopsisDespite the wealth of sociolinguistic studies on gender identity construction in interpersonal settings, limited research has been directed to mediated contexts. Drawing upon a popular Greek television series dealing with the contrast of “traditional” vs. “progressive women”, we explore the mediation of women's speech styles and the role of such depictions in the reproduction of hegemonic gender identities. The analysis shows that traditional identity is constructed on the basis of categories associated with the private sphere, whereas progressive identity is construed by means of categories linked to the public sphere. Yet, the depiction of linguistic practices that index gender in mediated settings is dynamic, contrary to the mediation of speech style, which tends to be generally monolithic. Thus, masculine and feminine styles of talk are represented as forming a stylistic continuum along which television characters are positioned during the display of their gender identities in specific fictional contexts.