Analysis of Gender-based Verbal Violence at the Workplace Using Culpeper’s Social Cognitive Approach

Verbal violence is one of the main topics in the field of sociolinguistic studies. The purpose of this research is to study the dimensions of gender-based verbal violence based on Culpeper's perspective. The participants in the research were female employees working in the institutions in Tehran, who were selected based on purposive sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and were subsequently categorized and analyzed based on Culpeper's social cognitive theory as a postmodern approach. The findings revealed both forms of verbal violence, namely, Bald On-record and Off-record, which include humiliation, insulting, blame-shifting, threatening, flirting, and, deceptive affection. Based on the findings, men use verbal violence purposefully, intentionally, and consciously, and women perceive verbal violence as rude, hostile, and irritating. Furthermore, women’s experience of gender-based verbal violence in the workplace shows that such behavior is a self-serving tool for men to benefit from gender stereotyping in order to attack women’s face, maintain and promote men’s face, advance their sexual harassment, and at the same time, excel in workplace competitions ahead of their women co-workers. The results also disclose how “language” that is affected by social norms, gender stereotypes, context, emotions, and individual desires can become more than a communicational tool, and be used as gender-based verbal violence in the workplace.