The English language, like many other languages, is fraught with inherent gender bias. This we know. Every time a customer service representative refers to me as “Mrs.,” I choke back a scream. Of course, I realize that this person is probably reading from a script, which may give instructions to refer to all women as “Mrs.” if her marital status is unknown. However, these companies need to get with the program. For heaven’s sake, it isn’t the 1950s! In that era, women were not even allowed to have a bank account or property in their names. Mail sometimes came to our house to “Mrs. Russell Price” as if my mother had no first name of her own. Decidedly antiquated.
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| Ida B. Wells, journalist, anti-racist & suffragist |
With
the sexual revolution of the 1960s, “Ms.” became an acceptable form of address
for a woman, regardless of marital status. Why should it be necessary to
identify a woman as to whether or not she is married? I remember I posed this
same question to a teaching assistant in a masters’ class at Northern Arizona
University in the 1990s. She insisted on referring to students as “Mr.” or
“Miss” or “Mrs.”. This instructor told me that she was proud to be married and
to use the title, “Mrs.” When I got over my shock at this revelation of a
fellow academic, I realized that she had the right to use “Mrs.” as her title
of address if she preferred. However, I was still irritated by being called
“Miss” by this teacher. It goes without saying that I certainly did not prefer
to be called “Miss,” finding it to be discriminatory and stereotyping. The
subtext is that if a woman isn’t married, she is less than complete, invisible.
It is in relationship with a man that a woman has value. At least that has been
interwoven into our common language by the practice of excluding women.
Remember
the statement: All men are created equal? English has changed some since the Declaration
of Independence was written. Most readers no longer understand the word
“man” to mean “person.” Using gender-neutral language has become standard
practice in both journalistic and academic writing. However underlying
stereotypes still crop up to rear their ugly heads of gender bias.
We
still see nouns such as policeman, fireman, congressman, etc., even though
women are currently represented in these careers. We must make the transition
to more gender-neutral terms, like “police officer,” “firefighter,” and “member
of Congress,” for example. In a field like nursing in which women have been
predominate, we need to discard terms like “male nurse.” We can change that
easily to “nurse,” whether the nurse be male or female.
And
what about pronouns? I remember in the ‘60s, some feminine linguists were
promoting new words like “hir” to be used for both “his” and “her.” Though
these scholars were well-intentioned, such pronouns never caught on. Today,
some linguists propose just solving the problem by using a plural pronoun. For
example, “The student put their books away.” (If we don’t know the gender of
the student.) I find this awkward in some contexts. Another choice is to use ‘his’
or ‘her’ alternated with ‘her’ or ‘him’. For example, “The student put his or
her books away. “Or “The student put her or his books away. “Using “her/his” or
“his/her” used to be more acceptable but is losing ground in some academic
settings.
Now
the question of non-binary gender terminology arises. Generally, it is accepted
to ask people what their preferred pronouns are. For example, I use, “she, her,
hers.” This avoids the problem of incorrectly labeling a transgendered or
non-binary gendered individual. Just ask them what they prefer if you are not
sure what gender the person prefers to be identified with.
I urge
men who have had built in gender preference in language, to ask themselves if
they would feel included if all they heard for decades was “All men are created
equal.” Would they feel included if the phrase were “All women are created
equal.? Of course not.
Here
are a few terms that we would do well to rid of gender bias and find a better
choice.
Cleaning
lady can be a cleaner; a businessman is a business executive. A landlord or
landlady can be a building manager; a mailman becomes a mail carrier. A
policemen changes to a police officer. A saleslady or salesman can be called a
salesclerk. A housewife or house husband can be a homemaker. Brotherhood is
community. Being manly is being strong. There are many more examples. These
have been a few to start with for paying attention to and consciously altering terms
to a bias-free choice.
Here are some tips to avoid gender-biased language:
1.
Know your own biases. Take stock of your own language,
written and oral, to find ways you can use more gender-neutral language.
2.
Focus on what’s relevant.by including information about
things like race, marital status, or age only when necessary.
3.
Recognize and acknowledge differences. Treat them
professionally and respectfully.
4.
Avoid labels. Some common labels are offensive while
others may be preferred by the group you’re describing.
5.
When in doubt, ask. (https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/unbiased-language.html).
