Terms

• Moderate Version
• Theory of Sexist Language
• Categories of Sexist language 
• Alternatives

Resources 

Ginet, Sally, Ruth Borker, and Nelly Furman.  Women and Language in Literature and Society. New York: New York 1980. This is a collection of different women's views on Sexist Language.  It has some articles that deal with Sexist Language in literature some that deal with Sexist Language in vocabulary and some that deal with Sexist language in Grammar. There are a lot of articles combined into one book and the information is all relevant and interesting. 

Updated November 25, 2001
 

Sexist Language

Sexist language is defined as words, phrases and expressions that unnecessarily separate females and males or exclude, trivialize or diminish either gender. The issue of sexist language has been affecting the English language since the 1960s. In vocabulary the attention of sexist language is focused on trying to replace male words with a neutral generic words.  For example replacing policeman with police officer.  In grammar the focus is on trying to create a neutral third person singular pronoun 

Sexist language could negatively effect women or men but the negative results seem to be aimed more towards women then men.  The moderate version of sexist language believes that culture and language are intertwined so that the meanings people give to language affect their realities, their self concepts and their world views.  The theory of sexist language seems to say that words cannot have more than one meaning.  For example, if "man" and "he" in some usage men males, then they cannot mean both males and females in other usage. 

In 1998 Milton and Swift discovered through research that there were three categories of sexist language.  The first was using false generics like "he" and "mankind". An example of this is seen in the following sentence.  A doctor cares for his patient.  His is used as a generic form because it is meant to refer to any doctor.  However, it implies that doctors are male, and it excludes females.   The second was using terms that separate men and women such as "man and wife" and "waiter" or "waitress". An example of this is seen in marriage vows when the preacher says I now pronounce you man and wife.  The third was using language that denies women their self-esteem and personal identity such as referring to adult females as girls rather than women. 

Sexist Language and Speech

Women's speech has been described as polite, emotional, enthusiastic, gossipy, talkative, uncertain, dull, and chatty.  Men's speech, in contrast, has been described as capable, direct, rational, spoken with a sense of humor, unfeeling, strong and blunt. In the book Women and Language in Literature and Society, Cheris Kramarae wrote,  "In recent years a great deal of research has attempted to translate such general stereotypes into specific linguistic terms so that "objective" measurements can be made to determine the nature and degree of sex differences in phonology, word choice, intonation, and syntax"(58).  The meaning of words is irrelevant. In an article on sexist language Kelley L. Ross wrote, "Their grammatical gender is revealed by their inflection, the inflection of modifying words, or by the pronouns or articles used with them"(Sommers). 

Sexist Language and Change 

Alternatives for the generic use of man

MAN man (noun) to man (verb) he (generic pronoun) his (generic pronoun) man-made mankind

ALTERNATIVE person, individual to operate, to staff he/she, they his/her, their synthetic people, humans

Alternatives for job titles that suggest only men may hold the position.

MAN chairman  foreman mailman fireman policeman businessman congressman

ALTERNATIVE chairperson, chair supervisor mail carrier, postal worker fire fighter police officer business executive member of Congress

Exercise

Works Cited 

Ross, Kelley.  "Against the Theory of Sexist Language"  2000.                <http://www.friesian.com/language.htm>.