InternationalWomensDay: How not to use sexist language | Opinion
As we mark International Women’s Day after a year of renewed media attention to issues of gender inequality, it could be that there are more important threats facing women and the survival of our planet, than mere words.
The words we use play a role in this because language has the power to perpetuate gender determinism and, in doing so, to marginalize women. But our words can also be used in inclusive ways to promote equality and social justice. So it can’t be fair that there are more derogatory terms for girls and women than for boys and men and that the continued use of generic words or forms—man, mankind—are supposed to be all-inclusive and designate human beings in general.
The way we communicate with others can be influenced by a number of things, including the relationship of the speakers, their age, social status and gender. If we view language as a form of social practice, then the way in which words—whether spoken or written—are received and interpreted by the listener reveal a great deal about how power relations are established and reinforced.
"What’s nice about Mx as a title is that it tells you nothing about a person. It doesn’t tell you their gender; it doesn’t tell you their marital status; it doesn’t tell you their qualifications or not. In the widest possible sense, it is for everyone."Nevertheless, this does not yet appear to have yet caught on in mainstream communication, and women tend to be addressed based on their apparent gender and the speaker’s own assumptions and cultural conditioning.
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