Presenter: Victoria Pineiro – Environmental Studies
Co-Presenter(s): Andi Van Laanen
Faculty Mentor(s): Melissa Baese-Berk, Myrihe Rohbock
Session: (Virtual) Oral Panel—Read, Speak and Act
In recent years, swearing has moved from somewhat of a taboo topic to a more common and acceptable practice in day to day life. This particular research examines how swearing impacts perceptions of professionalism in the workplace, with gender stereotypes as a sub focus. To investigate this, two surveys were distributed to primarily college aged individuals, and each survey had two sets of audios with the same scripts, one with a woman swearing and man not swearing, and the other with a man swearing and a woman not swearing. Participants were then asked about their perceptions of the speaker in each audio and to reflect on their feelings towards each as a whole. Overall, we found that swearing and professionalism have a negative relationship, regardless of gender. In conclusion, by conducting this research we are able to investigate the various ways professionalism is portrayed through different linguistic choices.