A Corpus-Based Study of Gender Construction in Tehmina Durrani’s Blasphemy

Abstract

This study examines the depiction of gender construction in Tehmina Durrani’s novel Blasphemy by implementing a corpus-based technique and employing Gloria Jean Watkins's (Bell’s Hook) feminist theory and Kimberly Crenshaw's intersectionality framework. The study uncovers patterns of male dominance and feminine submission through a qualitative investigation of barred words and adjectives linked with male and female characters. The instances of selected categories and concordances were derived from a specialized corpus built on one-novel text through Sketch Engine software. While female characters are depicted as oppressed and inferior, male characters are depicted as powerful landlords. This study sheds light on linguistic abuse by demonstrating that most verbal taboos aimed at shaming women are employed by male characters. Men demonstrate dominance over women while using verbs, whereas women demonstrate passivity when using adjectives. In combination with corpus linguistics and gender studies, this work invites future research into gender roles of male and female characters in Pakistani literature.