“What Is a Woman?”—From Inherited Sign to Legal Operator
Introduction: When Inherited Meaning Is No Longer Enough The question “What is a woman?” rarely causes difficulty in ordinary language. Speakers acquire the term early, use it fluently, and navigate its meaning without conscious reflection. In everyday contexts, it functions smoothly, without hesitation or demand for explicit definition. Yet in academic, legal, or political settings, the same question often produces silence, deferral, or visible unease. This contrast does not indicate ignorance or breakdown in understanding. Rather, it signals a shift in the semiotic conditions under which the question operates. The problem lies not in the word itself, but in the system that requires it to perform a different function. Language as an Inherited System Ferdinand de Saussure’s conception of language provides a critical starting point. For Saussure, language is not a tool invented or modified at will by individual speakers, but a social institution transmitted across generations. ...