Stereotyping ideal Woman in American blogs

Abstract

Abstract: An ideal woman stereotype presents a verbalized standard of what is most desirable in a woman. A middle class housewife, who fanatically pursues her goal to be an ideal woman is designated the Stepford Wife. She is a diligent mother, a conscious citizen, an attractive woman, and an obedient wife. The study presents qualitative analysis of American blogs. Conversational tone, the author’s stance orientation, and freedom of speech approximate linguistic material to that received experimentally. Based on implicit assumptions and evaluative characteristics, psycholinguistic profile of the Stepford Wife presents attitudinal ambivalence: housewife’s positively assessed qualities come along with criticized subordination of a wife to her husband. Verbal, situational, and associative types of irony convey criticism and sneer at the Stepford Wife. The text graphic execution and illustrations used in blogs emphasize emotionally colored focal points of the utterances.

Keywords: stereotype; Stepford Wife; modern media discourse; American blogs; attitudinal ambivalence; different types of irony.