Androcentrism and Gender Asymmetry in French and Russian Language

Theoretical framework of the third-wave feminism is based on the ideas of post-structuralist discourse approach, coined by Michel Foucault. It concludes in interrelation of the elements of different systems. Thus, the fight of feminism against gender-bias becomes structural, extensive and all-embracing process; from politics and economics to culture and language. Feminist linguistics is mostly concentrated on eradication of gender asymmetry, especially in androcentric languages where male-bias is salient. The most distinctive quality of gender-neutral language study is that its theoretical grounds are built along the practical implementation of already established strategic changes. In other words, the effectiveness and even necessity of the procedure is determined after it was already introduced. This research is aimed at analyzing gender-neutral means in French and Russian languages. As a result, it is expected to form an understanding of the way these languages adapted gender neutrality, and to explain possible differences between them.