Gender-neutral language
Gender-neutral language or gender-inclusive language is language that avoids bias towards a particular sex or gender. In English, this includes use of nouns that are not gender-specific to refer to roles or professions, formation of phrases in a c ...
is language that minimizes assumptions about the social
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
or biological
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...
of people referred to in speech or writing. In contrast to most other
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
, English does not retain
grammatical gender
In linguistics, grammatical gender system is a specific form of noun class system, where nouns are assigned with gender categories that are often not related to their real-world qualities. In languages with grammatical gender, most or all nouns ...
and most of its nouns, adjectives and pronouns are therefore not gender-specific. In most other Indo-European languages, nouns are grammatically masculine (as in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
''el humano'') or grammatically feminine (as in
French ''la personne''), or sometimes grammatically neuter (as in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
''das Mädchen''), regardless of the actual gender of the referent.
In addressing
natural gender
In linguistics, grammatical gender system is a specific form of noun class system, where nouns are assigned with gender categories that are often not related to their real-world qualities. In languages with grammatical gender, most or all nouns ...
, English speakers use linguistic strategies that may reflect the speaker's attitude to the issue or the perceived
social acceptability of such strategies.
Debate
Supporters of gender-neutral language argue that making language less biased is not only laudable but also achievable. Some people find the use of non-neutral language to be offensive.
here is
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here
Television
* Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...
a growing awareness that language does not merely reflect the way we think: it also shapes our thinking. If words and expressions that imply that women are inferior to men are constantly used, that assumption of inferiority tends to become part of our mindset... Language is a powerful tool: poets and propagandists know this – as, indeed, do victims of discrimination.
The standards advocated by supporters of the gender-neutral modification in English have been applied differently and to differing degrees among English speakers worldwide. This reflects differences in
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
and language structure, for example
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
in contrast to
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
.
Support for
Supporters of gender-neutral language argue that the use of gender-specific language often implies male superiority or reflects an unequal state of society. According to ''The Handbook of English Linguistics'', generic masculine pronouns and gender-specific job titles are instances "where English linguistic convention has historically treated men as prototypical of the human species."
[Aarts, Bas and April M. S. McMahon]
''The Handbook of English Linguistics.''
Malden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell Pub., 2006, . That masculine forms are used to represent all human beings is in accord with the traditional gender hierarchy, which grants men more power and higher social status than women.
Supporters also argue that words that refer to women often devolve in meaning, frequently developing sexual overtones.
''
The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing
''The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing: For writers, editors, and speakers'' was first published in 1980 by Casey Miller and Kate Swift. It was the second book produced by the two in an effort to raise awareness of issues concerning gender in the ...
'' says that the words children hear affect their perceptions of the gender-appropriateness of certain
career
The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways.
Definitions
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...
s (e.g. firemen vs firefighters).
Men and women apply for jobs in more equal proportions when gender-neutral language is used in the advertisement, as opposed to the generic ''he'' or ''man''.
Some critics claim that these differences in usage are not accidental, but have been deliberately created for the purpose of upholding a
patriarchal society
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males ...
.
Opposition
Various criticisms have been leveled against the use of gender-neutral language, most focusing on specific usages, such as the use of "human" instead of "man" and "they" instead of "he". Opponents argue that the use of any other forms of language other than gender-specific language could "lead one into using awkward or grating constructions" or neologisms that are so ugly as to be "abominations".
Opponents of gender-neutral language often argue that its proponents are impinging on the right of free expression and promoting censorship. A few commentators do not disagree with the usage of gender-neutral language, but they do question the effectiveness of gender-neutral language in overcoming
sexism
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...
.
In religion
Much debate over the use of gender-neutral language surrounds questions of
liturgy
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
and
Bible translation
The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. all of the Bible has been translated into 724 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,617 languages, and ...
. Some translations of the Bible in recent years have used gender-inclusive pronouns, but these translations have not been universally accepted.
Naming practices
Some critics oppose the practice of women changing their names upon marriage, on the grounds that it makes women historically invisible: "In our society 'only men have real names' in that their names are permanent and they have 'accepted the permanency of their names as one of the rights of being male.'... Essentially this practice means that women's family names do not count and that there is one more device for making women invisible." Up until the 1970s, as women were granted greater access to professions, they would be less likely to change their names, either professionally or legally; names were seen as tied to reputations and women were less likely to change their names when they had higher reputations. However, that trend was reversed starting in the 1970s; since that time, increasingly more women have been taking their husband's surname upon marriage, especially among well-educated women in high-earning occupations. Increasingly, studies have shown women's decisions on the issue are guided by factors other than political or religious ideas about women's rights or marital roles, as often believed.
The practice of referring to married women by their husband's first and last names, which only died out in the late 20th century, has been criticized since the 19th century. When the
Reverend
The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...
Samuel May "moved that Mrs Stephen Smith be placed on a Committee" of the
National Women's Rights Convention
The National Women's Rights Convention was an annual series of meetings that increased the visibility of the early women's rights movement in the United States. First held in 1850 in Worcester, Massachusetts, the National Women's Rights Convention ...
in
Seneca Falls,
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott (''née'' Coffin; January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880) was an American Quaker, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and social reformer. She had formed the idea of reforming the position of women in society when she was amongs ...
quickly replied: "Woman's Rights' women do not like to be called by their husbands' names, but by their own".
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...
refused to be addressed as "Mrs Henry B. Stanton". The practice was developed in the mid-18th century and was tied to the idea of
coverture
Coverture (sometimes spelled couverture) was a legal doctrine in the English common law in which a married woman's legal existence was considered to be merged with that of her husband, so that she had no independent legal existence of her own. U ...
, the idea that "By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law; that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage."
There is a tendency among scientists to refer to women by their first and last name and to men by their last name only. This may result in female scientists being perceived as less eminent than their male colleagues.
Examples of gender neutral language
Job titles
Gender-neutral job titles do not specify the gender of the person referred to, particularly when the gender is not in fact known, or is not yet specified (as in job advertisements). Examples include ''firefighter'' instead of ''fireman''; ''flight attendant'' instead of ''steward'' or ''stewardess''; ''bartender'' instead of ''barman'' or ''barmaid''; and ''chairperson'' or ''chair'' instead of ''chairman'' or ''chairwoman''.
There are also cases where a distinct female form exists, but the basic (or "male") form does not intrinsically indicate a male (such as by including ''man''), and can equally well be applied to any member of the profession, whether male or female or of unspecified sex. Examples include ''actor'' and ''actress''; ''usher'' and ''usherette''; ''comedian'' and ''comedienne''. In such cases, proponents of gender-neutral language generally advocate the non-use of the distinct female form (always using ''comedian'' rather than ''comedienne'', for example, even if the referent is known to be a woman).
Terms such as ''male nurse'', ''male model'' or ''female judge'' are sometimes used in cases where the gender is irrelevant or already understood (as in "my brother is a male nurse"). Many advisors on non-sexist usage discourage such phrasing, as it implies that someone of that gender is an inferior or atypical member of the profession. Another discouraged form is the prefixing of an ordinary job title with ''lady'', as in ''lady doctor'': here ''woman'' or ''female'' is preferred if it is necessary to specify the gender. Some jobs are known colloquially with a gender marker:
washerwoman
A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant.
Description
As evidence ...
or laundress (now usually referred to as a laundry worker),
tea lady
A tea lady provides drinks in an office, factory, hospital, or other place of work. The role under this name began in Britain during World War II, and continues in the National Health Service today. It used to be a wide-spread occupation for wo ...
(formerly in offices, still in hospitals),
lunch lady
Lunch lady, in Canada and the US, is a term for a woman who cooks and serves food in a school cafeteria. The equivalent term in the United Kingdom is dinner lady. The role is also sometimes known as cafeteria lady. Sometimes, a lunch lady also p ...
(
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
) or dinner lady (
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
), cleaning lady for
cleaner
A cleaner or a cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who cleans homes or commercial premises for payment. Cleaning operatives may specialise in cleaning particular things or places, such as window cleaners. Cleaning oper ...
(formerly known as a
charwoman
A charwoman (also chargirl, charlady or char) is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually ...
or charlady), and so on.
Generic words for humans
Another issue for gender-neutral language concerns the use of the words ''man'', ''men'' and ''mankind'' to refer to a person or people of unspecified sex or to persons of both sexes.
Although
the word ''man'' originally referred to both males and females, some feel that it no longer does so unambiguously. In
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
, the word ''
wer'' referred to males only and ''wif'' to females only, while ''man'' referred to both, although in practice ''man'' was sometimes also used in Old English to refer only to males. In time, ''wer'' fell out of use, and ''man'' came to refer sometimes to both sexes and sometimes to males only; "
long as most generalizations about men were made by men about men, the ambiguity nestling in this dual usage was either not noticed or thought not to matter." By the 18th century, ''man'' had come to refer primarily to males; some writers who wished to use the term in the older sense deemed it necessary to spell out their meaning.
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
, for example, writes of "the infinite simplicity and silliness of mankind and womankind", and when "
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
, writing of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, used ''men'' in the old, inclusive way, he took pains to spell out his meaning: 'Such a deplorable havoc is made in the minds of men (both sexes) in France....'"
Proponents of gender-neutral language argue that seemingly generic uses of the word "man" are often not in fact generic. Miller and Swift illustrate with the following quotation:
As for man, he is no different from the rest. His back aches, he ruptures easily, his women have difficulties in childbirth....
"If ''man'' and ''he'' were truly generic, the parallel phrase would have been ''he has difficulties in childbirth''", Miller and Swift comment. Writing for the
American Philosophical Association
The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly ...
, Virginia L. Warren follows Janice Moulton and suggests truly generic uses of the word ''man'' would be perceived as "false, funny, or insulting", offering as an example the sentence "Some men are female."
Further, some commentators point out that the ostensibly gender-neutral use of ''man'' has in fact sometimes been used to exclude women:
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
did not make the same distinction in declaring that "all men are created equal" and "governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed
In political philosophy, the phrase consent of the governed refers to the idea that a government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power is justified and lawful only when consented to by the people or society over which that political powe ...
." In a time when women, having no vote, could neither give nor withhold consent, Jefferson had to be using the word ''men'' in its principal sense of ''males'', and it probably never occurred to him that anyone would think otherwise.
For reasons like those above, supporters of gender-neutral language argue that linguistic clarity as well as equality would be better served by having ''man'' and ''men'' refer unambiguously to males, and ''human(s)'' or ''people'' to all persons; similarly, the word ''mankind'' replaced by ''humankind'' or ''humanity''.
The use of the word ''man'' as a generic word referring to all humans has been declining, particularly among female speakers and writers.
Pronouns
Another target of frequent criticism by proponents of gender-neutral language is the use of the masculine
pronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun (abbreviated ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase.
Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not co ...
''he'' (and its derived forms ''him'', ''his'' and ''himself'') to refer to antecedents of
indeterminate gender. Although this usage is traditional, some critics argue that it was invented and propagated by males, whose explicit goal was the linguistic representation of male superiority. The use of the generic ''he'' was approved in an Act of Parliament, the
Interpretation Act 1850 (the provision continues in the
Interpretation Act 1978
The Interpretation Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision for the interpretation of Acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Assembly, subord ...
, although this states equally that the feminine includes the masculine). On the other hand, in 1879 the word "he" in by-laws was used to block admission of women to the Massachusetts Medical Society.
Proposed alternatives to the generic ''he'' include ''he or she'' (or ''she or he''), ''s/he'', or the use of
singular ''they''. Each of these alternatives has met with objections. The use of ''he or she'' has been criticized for reinforcing the
gender binary
The gender binary (also known as gender binarism) is the classification of gender into two distinct, opposite forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender bina ...
. Some feel the use of singular ''they'' to be a grammatical error, but according to most references, ''they'', ''their'' and ''them'' have long been grammatically acceptable as gender-neutral singular pronouns in English, having been used in the singular continuously since the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, including by a number of prominent authors, such as
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
,
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, and
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
. Linguist
Steven Pinker
Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18, 1954) is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind.
P ...
goes further and argues that traditional grammar proscriptions regarding the use of singular "they" are themselves incorrect:
Some
style guide
A style guide or manual of style is a set of standards for the writing, formatting, and design of documents. It is often called a style sheet, although that term also has multiple other meanings. The standards can be applied either for gene ...
s (e.g. APA) accept singular ''they'' as grammatically correct, while others reject it. Some, such as ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', hold a neutral position on the issue, and contend that any approach used is likely to displease some readers.
Research has found that the use of masculine pronouns in a generic sense creates "male bias" by evoking a disproportionate number of male images and excluding thoughts of women in non-sex specific instances. Moreover, a study by John Gastil found that while ''they'' functions as a generic pronoun for both males and females, males may comprehend ''he/she'' in a manner similar to ''he''.
Honorifics
Proponents of gender-neutral language point out that while
Mr is used for men regardless of marital status, the titles
Miss
Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, it ...
and
Mrs
Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard English pronunciation: ) is a commonly used English honorific for Woman, women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title (or rank), such as ''Doctor (ti ...
indicate a woman's marital status, and thus signal her sexual availability in a way that men's titles do not. The honorific "
Ms" can be used for women regardless of marital status.
The gender-neutral honorific
Mx ( "mix", ) can be used in place of gendered honorifics to provide gender neutrality. Adoption of the honorific has been relatively rapid and thorough in the UK. In 2013,
Brighton and Hove
Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages.
Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
City Council in
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, England, voted to allow its use on council forms, and in 2014,
The Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) ...
included the title as an option. In 2015, recognition spread more broadly across UK institutions, including the Royal Mail, government agencies responsible for documents such as drivers' licenses, and several other major banks. In 2015, it was included in the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
''.
Style guidance by publishers and others
Many editing houses, corporations, and government bodies have official policies in favor of in-house use of gender-neutral language. One of the first was ''
The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing: For writers, editors, and speakers'', published in 1980; linguist
Deborah Cameron argues that the work by
Casey Miller
Casey Geddes Miller (February 26, 1919 – January 5, 1997) was an American feminist author and editor best known for promoting the use of non-sexist writing in the English language. With Kate Swift, her business partner and platonic domestic ...
and
Kate Swift
Kate Swift (December 9, 1923 – May 7, 2011) was an American feminist writer and editor who co-wrote (with Casey Miller, her business partner and platonic domestic partner) influential books and articles about sexism in the English language.http: ...
brought "the issue of sexist language into the mainstream".
In some cases, laws exist regarding the use of gender-neutral language in certain situations, such as job advertisements. Different authorities have presented guidelines on whether and how to use gender-neutral, or "non-sexist" language. Several are listed below:
* The
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association has an oft-cited section on "Guidelines to Reduce Bias in Language".
—published 1986
€”see section "gender issues"
Avoiding Heterosexual Bias in Language published by the Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns,
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
.
In addition, gender-neutral language has gained support from some major textbook publishers, and from professional and academic groups such as the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
and the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
. Newspapers such as the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and the ''
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' use gender-neutral language. Many law journals, psychology journals, and literature journals will only print articles or papers that use gender-inclusive language.
Employee policy manuals sometimes include strongly worded statements prescribing avoidance of language that potentially could be considered discriminatory. One such example is from the University of Saskatchewan: "All documents, publications or presentations developed by all constituencies...''shall be written'' in gender neutral and/or gender inclusive language."
In 1989 the
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
's House of Delegates adopted a resolution stating that "the American Bar Association and each of its entities should use gender-neutral language in all documents establishing policy and procedure."
In 2015 the
Union for Reform Judaism
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms established ...
in North America passed a "Resolution on the Rights of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People" stating in part: "THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Union for Reform Judaism...
ges Reform Movement institutions to review their use of language in prayers, forms and policies in an effort to ensure people of all gender identities and gender expressions are welcomed, included, accepted and respected. This includes developing statements of inclusion and/or non-discrimination policies pertaining to gender identity and gender expression, the use when feasible of gender-neutral language, and offering more than two gender options or eliminating the need to select a gender on forms".
See also
*
Epicene
Epicenity is the lack of gender distinction, often reducing the emphasis on the masculine to allow the feminine. It includes androgyny – having both masculine and feminine characteristics. The adjective ''gender-neutral'' may describe epicenit ...
*
Gender in English
A system of grammatical gender, whereby every noun was treated as either masculine, feminine, or neuter, existed in Old English, but fell out of use during the Middle English period; therefore, Modern English largely does not have grammatical gen ...
*
Gender role
A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
*
Gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender
Gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender is the usage of wording that is balanced in its treatment of the genders in a non-grammatical sense.
For example, advocates of gender-neutral language challenge the traditional use of masc ...
*
Gender neutrality in genderless languages
A genderless language is a natural or constructed language that has no distinctions of grammatical gender—that is, no categories requiring morphological agreement between nouns and associated pronouns, adjectives, articles, or verbs.
The no ...
*
Gender marking in job titles
A gender-specific job title is a name of a job that also specifies or implies the gender of the person performing that job. For example, in English, the job title ''stewardess'' implies that the person is female. A gender-neutral job title, on the ...
*
Generic antecedent
Generic antecedents are representatives of classes, referred to in ordinary language by another word (most often a pronoun), in a situation in which gender is typically unknown or irrelevant. These mostly arise in generalizations and are particul ...
*
Markedness
In linguistics and social sciences, markedness is the state of standing out as nontypical or divergent as opposed to regular or common. In a marked–unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one. The dominant defau ...
*
Unisex name
A unisex name (also known as an epicene name, a gender-neutral name or an androgynous name) is a given name that is not gender-specific. Unisex names are common in the English-speaking world, especially in the United States. By contrast, some c ...
*
"You guys"
Citations
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Transcript of ABC Radio program on the singular ''they''.
External links
Regendercan translate English web pages so as to swap genders. Reading such gender-swapped pages can be an interesting exercise in detecting "gender-biased language".
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gender Neutrality In English
Gender-inclusive language
Gender-neutral language or gender-inclusive language is language that avoids bias towards a particular sex or gender. In English, this includes use of nouns that are not gender-specific to refer to roles or professions, formation of phrases in a c ...
English usage controversies