Are some uses of language inherently sexist?
Advocates of ‘non-sexist language’, including many feminists, argue that traditional language fails to reflect the presence of women in society adequately. In general, they complain about a number of issues: • Over-use of what they consider to be exclusively gender-specific pronouns like “he”. • Use of “man” to refer to all people. • Over-use of gender-specific job titles. • Use of Miss and Mrs. (see Ms.). • non-parallel usage, such as “man and wife”. • Stereotypical words such as virile and ladylike Advocates of ‘non-sexist language’ see various problems with these uses: • They marginalize women and create the impression of a male-dominated society. • They can be patronising, for example treating women only as marriage material • They can perpetuate stereotypes about the “correct” way for a man or woman to behave. Opponents of non-sexist language do not accept these arguments as valid. • Some regard the whole thing as “political correctness gone mad”. • Some people believe that while
