Language, Sex and Gender
Sexist language is language that expresses bias in favour of one sex and thus discriminates against the other. In general the bias is in favour of men and against women.
Any language that discriminates against women by not adequately reflecting their role, status and presence in society is sexist.
Major forms of sexist language
Alternatives for 'man'
Alternatives to 'he' and 'his'
Varying word order
Alternatives for sex-specific occupation terms
Titles and other modes of address
Patronising expressions
Sex-role stereotyping, sexist descriptions and "jokes"
Representation of women and men in case materials and illustrations
Acknowledgments
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Major forms of sexist language
Some of the major forms of sexist language are:
Invisibility
Women are often invisible in language. This is due to the use of the masculine pronouns 'he', 'him', 'his' to refer to both men and women, and the use of 'man' as a noun, verb or adjective in words such as 'mankind', 'man made'.
Dependence
Women are often portrayed in language as subordinate to men. Expressions such as 'female technician' and 'woman academic' imply that women are regarded as oddities in certain situations or occupations. The use of 'feminine' suffixes such as 'ette', 'ess', 'ienne' and 'trix' are unnecessary and demeaning. The inappropriate use of titles reflects that women are viewed as subordinate to men.
Trivialisation
Women and their activities, actions and occupations are often trivialised or denigrated in language through expressions like 'girls in the office', 'just a housewife'.
Stereotyping
Women are often portrayed in a stereotyped manner, described predominantly in terms of the roles of 'wife' or 'mother', and referred to by their physical attributes when this is not appropriate in the context.
Alternatives for 'man'
The word 'man' is ambiguous as it can mean either human being or male human being. Try to find alternatives for using 'man' as a generic term:
| Instead of - | Use - |
|---|---|
| man | humans, human beings, humankind, man and woman, women and men, the individual |
| mankind | humanity, human beings, the human race, people |
| the best man for the job | the best person for the job, the best woman or man for the job, the best candidate for the job |
| the man in the street | the average person, ordinary people, people in general |
| man of letters, men of science | scholar, academic, scientists |
| manpower | workforce, personnel, the staff, human resources, workers |
| manmade | artificial, constructed, fabricated, handmade, manufactured |
Avoid the use of 'man' as a verb or adjective:
| We need someone to man the desk | We need someone to staff the desk / attend to the desk |
| manning the office | staffing the office |
| She will man the phones | She will attend to phone calls answer the phones operate the phones |
Avoid the generic use of words that contain 'man':
| sportsmanlike | fair, sporting |
| workmanlike | skilful, efficient |
Alternatives to 'he' and 'his'
Since English does not possess a singular, sex-indefinite pronoun, the pronouns 'he', 'his' and 'him' are frequently used as generic pronouns. As this use is both ambiguous and excludes women, try to find alternatives. One of the following may be acceptable, depending on the context:
| The student may exercise his right to appeal. He should do so before the date advised. | The student may exercise his or her right to appeal. He or she should do so before... The student may exercise her/his right to appeal... She / he should do so before the date advised. (This alternative is restricted to written language. |
| Please note that the use of s/he is not recommended as it may cause grammatical difficulties) | |
| Students may exercise their right to appeal. They should do so before the date advised. The student may exercise the right to appeal before the date advised. | |
| You may exercise your right to appeal. You must do so before the date advised. The right to appeal may be exercised by students before the date advised |
Avoid personifying inanimate objects. The pronoun 'it' should be used to refer to inanimate nouns such as those designating countries, ships, cars and aircraft.
Varying word order
Men usually precede women in expressions such as men and women, his and hers, him and her, he and she, Sir or Madam, etc. Try reversing the word order in these expressions: women and men, hers and his, her and him, she and he, Madam or Sir, etc. Alternate the word order in such expressions throughout a document or verbal presentation.
Alternatives for sex-specific occupation terms:
The greater presence of women in a whole range of occupations makes it desirable to seek alternative forms and titles in order to avoid the impression that these positions are male-exclusive. It is important to be consistent in your use of alternative occupation terms, and to avoid using them only or mainly when the incumbent is a woman.
| chairman | chair, convenor, co-ordinator |
| headmaster, headmistress | principal |
| policeman | police officer, policemen and policewomen |
| businessman | business person, business executive, entrepreneur OR businesswomen and men (spoken language only) |
| layman | layperson, non-professional, non-specialist |
| groundsman | gardener, groundsworker, landscaper |
Avoid using occupational titles containing the 'feminine' suffixes -ess, -ette, -trix, -ienne. These often have trivialising or negative connotations and convey the idea that women are deviations from a male norm. If it is important to specify the sex of the person, the adjective 'female' or 'male' can be used in conjunction with the non-sexist term.
| actress | actor |
| executrix | executor |
| authoress | author, writer |
| comedienne | comedian |
| waitress | waiter |
| usherette | usher, attendant |
| air hostess | flight attendant |
Generic terms such as doctor, lawyer, academic, administrator, secretary, should be assumed to apply equally to a man or a woman. Expressions such as 'male secretary', 'lady lawyer', 'woman academic' should be avoided in contexts where the reference to a person's sex is irrelevant. If sex specification is necessary, the use of the adjectives 'female' and 'male' before the non-sexist noun is to be preferred.
Titles and other modes of address
The inappropriate use of names, titles, salutations and endearments create the impression that women merit less respect or less serious consideration that men do. Titles and modes of address should be used consistently, and in a parallel fashion, for women and men:
| Albert Einstein and Mrs Mead | Dr Einstein and Dr Mead Albert Einstein and Margaret Mead |
| Mrs Bhutto and Paul Keating | Benazir Bhutto and Paul Keating Prime Minister Bhutto and Prime Minister Keating |
| The novels of Trollope and Jane Austen | The novels of Trollope and Austen... The novels of Anthony Trollope and Jane Austen... |
It has become more common for women to keep their birth name after marriage or revert to it after divorce. Hyphenated surnames or double names are also increasingly used by married women. Care should be taken that a woman, like a man, is addressed by the name which she prefers.
It is particularly important in a university environment to ensure that people's qualifications are accurately reflected in their title, and that women's and men's academic titles are used in a parallel fashion.
| Judy Smith, Dr Nguyen | Professor Smith, Dr Nguyen |
| Judy Smith, Quang Nguyen |
'The titles 'Miss' and 'Mrs' not only identify the person addressed as a woman but reveal her marital status, whereas the use of 'Mr' merely identifies that person as a man. The use of 'Ms' is recommended for all women when the parallel 'Mr' is applicable, and 'Ms' should always be used when a woman's title of preference is unknown. A woman's preference of title should be respected when known.
Patronising expressions
It is important to recognise and avoid language that trivialises or denigrates women. Members of both sexes should be represented as whole human beings and treated with the same respect, dignity and seriousness. Use the words 'man'/'woman', 'girl'/'boy', 'gentleman'/'lady' in a parallel manner: Referring to adult women as 'girls' in a context where male adults are described as 'men' is inappropriate.
| The girls in the office | The secretaries, office assistants |
| Ladies | Women (except when used in a parallel manner with gentlemen) |
| My girl will take care of that immediately | My assistant will take care of that immediately |
Avoid offensive and patronising colloquialisms such as 'sheilas', 'birds', 'bimbos' and 'jocks'.
Avoid using endearments such as 'luv', 'dearie' for women who are unknown to you or in situations that do not call for intimacy. 'Madam' or 'Sir' can be substituted if the person addressed is unknown.
Sex-role stereotyping, sexist descriptions and "jokes"
Avoid assumptions about people based upon sex-role stereotyping.
| Lecturers have wives and children to support | Lecturers have families to support |
| We are looking for an administrator who is his own man | We are looking for an administrator with a sense of independence and integrity |
If men and women have similar personalities, parallel language should be used to describe them. Avoid the use of stereotyped generalisations about men's and women's characters and patterns of behaviour. Particular care should be taken in describing women and men who do not fit the female or male stereotype.
| strong men and domineering women | strong men and women, domineering men and women |
| assertive men and aggressive women | assertive women and men, aggressive men and women |
| angry men and hysterical women | angry men and women, hysterical men and women |
| The student's behaviour was typically female | The student's behaviour was .... (specify the behaviour) |
Avoid irrelevant references to a woman's physical appearance. It should also be noted that references to a woman's marital or parenting status are generally irrelevant in contexts where her professional role or capacity are being described.
Sexist 'jokes' are offensive to many people and should be avoided.
Representation of women and men in case materials and illustrations
When selecting examples, case studies and visual material and when using illustrations, ensure that both men and women are represented and shown in a variety of roles.
When quoting sources that use sexist language, use [sic] after the sexist word or phrase, thus calling attention to the fact that this form of words is used in the orginal.
Acknowledgments
The above information is taken from the brochure titled 'Language Matters' and is primarily based on Anne Pauwels, Non-Discriminatory Language and other references.
