Deborah Cameron is Professor of Language and Communication at Oxford University. She has been an active researcher in the field of language and gender studies since 1985, and her previous publications include The Myth of Mars and Venus (2007), On Language and Sexual Politics (2006) and Feminism and Linguistic Theory (1992).Sylvia Shaw is Senior Lecturer in English Language at Middlesex University, UK. She has examined gender and language in the House of Commons, and conducted ESRC funded research in all the UK’s legislative assemblies. She has published book chapters and journal articles, and is currently preparing a book, Women, Language and Politics.