Abstract: This paper probes into the social reasons for sexism against women in English language, analyses the sexism phenomena from the angle of word formation, word meaning and feminine terms with examples in English vocabulary, and studies the main causes of sexism from the perspective of policy, economy, culture, education and social status. Countermeasures are put forward at last in the fight against gender discrimination in English vocabulary.

Key words: sexism; discrimination; countermeasures

CONTENTS

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction1

2. Literature Review ..2

3. Social Causes of Sexism in English Vocabulary4

3.1 Cause of Economy

3.2 Cause of Culture

3.3 Cause of Social Status

4. Countermeasures against Sexism...6

4.1 Introducing a Neutral Word

4.2 Avoiding Use of Third Person Singular Noun or Pronoun

4.3 Creating a Corresponding Negative or Positive Word

5. Conclusion..7

Bibliography ..8

Acknowledgements。..9