Figleaf (linguistics)
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In linguistics, a figleaf is defined as language used to prevent a bigoted statement from being perceived as bigoted,[1] for example, that a person making a racist statement is not racist.[1] The concept of a figleaf was created by Jennifer Saul, who coined "racial figleaves" and "gender figleaves", who says that they come from the social norms, "Don't be racist" and "Don't be sexist".[1]
Types
[edit]Saul listed several types of figleaves, including denial, mention, and friendship figleaves.[2]
Examples
[edit]Mentioning statistics can act as a figleaf. An example of this may include saying that "Black men are prone to criminal behaviour", followed by saying that they have a higher rate of incarceration.[1]
Racial figleaves
[edit]A common instance of a racial figleaf is the statement "Black men are prone to criminal behaviour", followed by "But don’t get me wrong, some of my best friends are black", suggesting that one who says this cannot be racist if they have black friends, further suggesting that the listener is not racist if they believe, accept, and repeat this.[1]
Gender figleaves
[edit]An example of a gender figleaf could be a person saying "Women are no good at math", following the statement with "In saying this, I want to make it clear that I have great respect for women". This suggests to the listener that the speaker is not sexist if they have respect for women, further suggesting that it would not be sexist for the listener to agree and repeat it.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Bräuer, Felix (2023-03-01). "Statistics as Figleaves". Topoi. 42 (2): 433–443. doi:10.1007/s11245-023-09893-7. ISSN 0167-7411.
- ^ Jennifer Saul (2024), Dogwhistles and Figleaves: How Manipulative Language Spreads Racism and Falsehood, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780192871756
