The Semiotics of Markedness

In linguistics class.
I learned this some years ago.
Thing called “Markedness.”

Sign of Signified.
Coined by Roman Jakobson.
Semiotician.

The Signifier.
Highlighting the Signified.
Subject to Object.

Man as the Subject.
A woman objectified.
Eternally marked.

He as masculine.
With differences noted.
She as feminine.

He unmarked as male.
No need for him to be marked.
She marked as fe-male.

While he is hero.
That makes her a hero-ine.
She is the marked one.

While he is a man.
As signified, she is marked.
Again as wo-man.

Rarely is man marked.
When he is a widow-er.
He finds himself marked.

What’s considered strange:
“Markedness is Difference.”
What’s considered rare.

Languages as signs.
Signifiers, Signified.
Markedness structured.