Sexist
language
Sexist language is language which shows a bias towards one sex. This results in discrimination against the other
sex. Sexist language is most commonly used to
favour men over women.
Traditionally, the English language has used men as the norm when
referring to humans. This has resulted in
women being excluded or made invisible from thought and language. However, our society has changed over time, and
our use of non-discriminatory English reflects this change.
For example, the generic use of the word man when
referring to both males and females in the general sense, is no longer acceptable.
Example 1
The discovery of penicillin has been of benefit to mankind. |
Example 2 |
In these examples, the expressions mankind
and man-hours have assumed the
inclusion of both women and men. However, in
today's society the word man is generally understood to refer only to men. The language in these examples is now considered
to be sexist because it does not reflect the role and position of women in our society
today.
Now look at the examples again.
They have been re-written in non-sexist language.
Example 1 |
The word humanity includes
both men and women. Neither sex is excluded
or made invisible by the
Example 2 |
The
word man is omitted from this example. The
language is now non-discriminatory. It
assumes the inclusion of both sexes.
Self-check 2
Instructions:
List A contains examples of sexist or discriminatory
language. List B contains examples of
inclusive or non-discriminatory language. Select the appropriate inclusive language from List
B to replace the biased language in List A. To do this:
1. place the mouse arrow
on the drop down box symbol next to the instructions 'Choose a replacement ... '
2.
left click to unfold
the list of suggestions
3.
use the mouse to select
an appropriate replacement from the unfolded list. You may need to hold the
left-click down while you make your selection.
Your selection will appear in the appropriate box in column 2. After completing all items click the 'submit' bar at the bottom of the table.
List A |
Replacement/s |
List B |
Answer is... |
| chairman | chair | ||
| man-made |
firefighter | ||
| mankind | primitive people | ||
| primitive man | humanity | ||
| fireman | manufactured | ||
Total Score: /5 |
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