Sexism and Feminine Gender Misrepresentation: Pragmatic Implications

The feminine gender, widely categorized as the weaker vessel, has been greatly undermined within the Nigerian society such that certain expressions ascribed to that gender carry negative connotations that are derogatory and demeaning. This research examines those derogatory expressions with the objective to project some aspects of misrepresentation of the feminine gender, as well as propose positive approaches to the perception of the feminine gender in the dominant cultures in Nigeria. The theoretical orientation of this research hinges on Grice’s conversational implicature, situated in the domain of Pragmatics, which is a sub- field of Linguistics. The methodology adopted for this research is qualitative and its paradigm is interpretive.