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GENDER NEUTRAL

LANGUAGE

Is the English language sexist?


! According to Ludwig Wittgenstein, the limits of our

language are the limits of our world.


! According to Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, language and

thought have a symbiotic relationship:


Language not only reflects what s on your mind, whether
conscious or not, but also controls what you think.
! That language shapes reality means that if you don t have a

word for something, you can t think of it.

Is the English language sexist?


! Western cultures lack the language to appreciate the many

uses of something as basic as rice.


! But for Filipinos, rice is bigas (uncooked rice), kanin (cooked

rice), palay (newly harvested, unshucked rice), tutong (burnt


rice), sinangag (fried rice).

Is the English language sexist?


! English-speaking people put much importance on sexual

difference, because their nouns and pronouns are often


gendered.
! A spouse may be a husband or wife; a sibling may be a

brother or a sister.
! The Filipino language doesn t assign a gender to such word

as asawa (spouse) or kapatid (sibling). As for pronouns, he or


she and him or her translate simply to siya, a unisex word.

Is the English language sexist?


! Sexist language is one that communicates sexism, or behavior

that denigrates one sex and lauds the other.


! Sexist language implies sexist thoughts, intentional or not.

The adjective seminal describes something that has original value.


It is actually derived from the Latin word semen, which means male seed.

The word hysterical, which implies a loss of emotional control


bordering on psychosis.
It comes from hystera, the Greek word for womb.

Is the English language sexist?


! Language also reveals our sexist conception of intercourse.
! According to Robert Barker, we think of sex as something that is

done to (as opposed to done by) women.

The verbs screw, have, and hump sound natural in sentences


where the doer of the action is maleas in Dick screwed Jane.

The action words are associated with the penis.

If our words are more female-oriented, engulf (as in the vagina


engulfing the penis) should mean the same as screw.

Is the English language sexist?


! The undesirability of the female sexual role is manifested by such

sentences as I m screwed, I m fucked, I ve been had, and


I ve been taken which all denote disadvantage or crisis
situations.
! Similarly, when you wish to harm on someone, you generally say

Screw you or Fuck you, whose literal meaning is a command


for the other person to assume the female sexual position relative to
you.

Some examples of sexism in


English
! Masculine generics
! Diminutive suffixes
! Salutations
! Marking
! Asymmetry
! Animal and food terms
! Anti-male bias

Masculine generics
! Using masculine nouns and pronouns

as generic terms
!
!
!

Man the rational animal


The man in the street
All men are created equal

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin

Masculine generics
!

Research since the 1970s shows that masculine


generics conjure masculine images (Ivy &
Backlund 2000: 175)
!
!
!

My brother married a spaceman from


NASA.
The Development of the Uterus in Rats,
Guinea Pigs, and Men (actual thesis title)
No person may require another person to
perform, participate in, or undergo an
abortion against his will.

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin

Masculine generics
!

Originally, the world man in Old English


literally meant human being

Waepman male human being


Wifman female human being

Wifman evolved into the contemporary


word woman

Meanwhile, waepman dropped its first four


letters and evolved into man

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin

Masculine generics: Some


solutions
1.

Using alternative words, e.g.


humankind instead of mankind
Note: Not all words with man in
them are sexist, e.g. human, woman,
manager, emancipate, manipulate

2.

Using both pronouns


Every student is expected to bring his
or her own test booklet.

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin

Masculine generics: Some


solutions
3.

Pluralizing
Students are expected to bring their
own test booklets.

4.

Rewording
Test booklets will not be provided or
Bring your own test booklet.
The Thinker by Auguste Rodin

Diminutive suffixes
! Adding a suffix such as ette, -ess, -enne,

or trix to a noun
E.g. Actress, authoress, aviatrix,
comedienne, laundress, songstress,
waitress
Stewardess

! The suffix perpetuates the notion that

the male is the norm and the female is


the subset, a deviation, a secondary
classification
! It makes a person s sex too important

Salutations: Miss and Mrs.


!

Women are labelled as single or married,


Miss or Mrs., a linguistic practice that has no
equivalent in referring to men

Mr. doesn t reflect a man s marital status:


he could be single, married, separated,
divorced, or widowed

To counter this practice, feminists began to


use the neologism Ms., whichlike Mr.is
silent about marital status

As a trivia, Amelia Earhart used to be known


as Mrs. George Palmer Putman and
Charlotte Bronte, Mrs. Arthur B. Nicholls

Ms. magazine, founded


by American feminist
Gloria Steinem

Marking

Gay Lord Focker,


male nurse

Placing a sex-identifying adjective in front of


a noun to designate the referent as somehow
different or deviant

E.g. woman doctor, male secretary, female


boss, male nurse, lady driver, lady dentist

Such sex marking is limiting, discriminatory,


and unnecessary

References to sports teams also reflect this


sexist practice. Male teams or groups use the
generic or mascot name. E.g. The Green
Archers, the Lady Archers

Asymmetry
! The use of un-parallel terms when

referring to the sexes


E.g.
A man without a girl
I now pronounce you man and wife

Asymmetry
! Unparallel terms. Certain words imply power, authority, or prowess

when the gender is masculine, but their feminine equivalents are


trivialized or sexualized.
Male term

Female term

Negative implication of female term

master

mistress

paramour

sir

madam

whorehouse proprietor

host

hostess

prostitute

governor

governess

domestic servant

bachelor

spinster

old maid

stud

slut

loose woman

Animal and food terms


! Using animal and food terms for men

and women is demeaning and sexist


! Some animal terms for women: Fox,

vixen, hen ( henpecked ), chick, bitch,


pussy, kitten, bunny, shrew, broad
! Some animal terms for men: Wolf,

cock, snake, bull, tiger, cat, tomcat,


gorilla, big ape, big ox, ass, jackass

Animal and food terms


! Food terms used in referring to women

are trivializing and stem from a culture


that equates consumption with
relationships with women
! Some food terms for women: Honey,

sugar, cookie, pumpkin, cupcake, baby


cakes, cutie pie, sugar lips, lamb chop,
tart
! Note: Only in certain contexts and

within certain relationships should


animal and food terms for persons be
construed as endearments

Anti-male bias
! Using language that excludes or limit men,

or evokes negative male stereotypes


! Mother and parent are often used

interchangeably
E.g. What would your mother say? , Didn t
your mother teach you anything?
! There is language that strongly suggests to

boys the roles they are to play and chastises


them if they stray
E.g. Sissy, mama s boy, Take it like a man,
impotent

Mugger is often
imagined to be male

Anti-male bias
! Males are excluded from victim

language, e.g. Wife abuse and


Innocent women and children
! Negative stereotypes of men are

embedded in words associated with


crime and wrongdoing, e.g. Murderer,
mugger, suspect, rapist
Mugger is often
imagined to be male

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