Gender aspects of expressing stupidity in English paremiology

the article examines the gender aspects of expressing foolishness in English paremiology. The introduction highlights the relevance of studying proverbs as reflections of cultural stereotypes related to the perception of male and female intellect. The authors analyze how historically established patriarchal norms influenced the formation of sayings that reinforce the idea of women’s "innate" irrationality and men’s foolishness as a consequence of overconfidence. The research material includes a corpus of English proverbs from historical collections, analyzed through the lens of their socio-cultural context. Methods involved comparative lexical analysis, contextual interpretation, and tracking the historical dynamics of linguistic norms. Results show that in English paremiology, female foolishness is often associated with emotionality and "natural" limitations, while male foolishness is linked to rashness and pride. Proverbs mocking women quantitatively dominate, reflecting the male perspective in traditional folklore. The discussion emphasizes that such stereotypes served as tools to maintain gender hierarchy, though their role has gradually diminished in modern egalitarian society. Special attention is paid to language evolution: outdated proverbs persist as historical relics, often used ironically. The study contributes to understanding the interplay between language, culture, and gender stereotypes, underscoring the need for critical reinterpretation of paremiological heritage. The findings can be applied in linguistics, cultural studies, and gender studies to analyze the mechanisms of social norm formation and transformation.

gender stereotypes, English paremiology, cultural norms, linguistic analysis, historical context