ABSTRACT
In 1995, Stephanie Glazer filed a $1 million gender bias suit against the New York Rangers hockey franchise. The suit is based on her claim that she was “removed from the hockey arena for using unfeminine language” (“Female Hockey Fan”, 1995, p. C2). Even as she was being removed, however, Glazer charges that male hockey fans were yelling obscenities “in an effort to bait the usher,” but Glazer quotes a security guard who winked and smiled as saying, “Guys, no bad language.” Glazer's suit presents an extreme example of what might happen when people violate sex-role norms. We are all familiar with the feminine stereotype that women should behave like ladies. An important part of this stereotype, apparently even at some hockey games, is that ladies do not use vulgar language. By contrast, one stereotype of men is that they more commonly use vulgar and obscene language (De Klerk, 1991).
