“Some Notes on Gender-Neutral Language”

1. “Some Notes on Gender-Neutral Language” Article by Carolyn Jacobson Report by Christina Oh

2. Introduction & Main Points • Every language reflects prejudices of its society and English is no exception. As a reader and writer, we have to be aware of different conventions and connotations that may be elicited by a certain time period. • “Man” was once used as be a generic term referring to all humans, but is used now used to refer mainly to adult males. • “He” is a pronoun that was intended to refer to both male and female genders but because it has caused some discrepancies in legal documents. • There are several solutions for solving the pronoun problem.

3. “Man” • The word “man” was originally a generic word used to describe all humans. • As time progressed, “man” became a more inclusive word only to refer to adult males. • The Old English words for male and female were waepman and wifman. Waepman eventually evolved to just man and wifman evolved to be woman. • By the 18th century, “man” was no longer used as a generic word referring to all humans.

4. “Man” – cont’d • When writing about the French Revolution in the 18th century, Edmund Burke took extra measures to insure that his use of “man” was not misunderstood. • “Such a deplorable havoc is made in the minds of men (both sexes) in France…” • Unfortunately, Thomas Jefferson didn’t take the same distinction when declaring that “all men are created equal” during a time when women already didn’t have the right to vote. • Modern dictionaries and studies of college students and school children reveal that “man” and “men” are taught to bring up images of males only.

5. The Pronoun Problem • When the first grammars of modern English were being written in the 16th and 17th centuries they were written by male authors to help upper class boys learn Latin. • Masculine-gender pronouns weren’t used to refer to both sexes and it reflected the cultural dominance of males. • The use of “he” came about when grammarians were trying to change the traditional use of “they” as a singular pronoun. • In 1850, Parliament made a new law that said “words importing the masculine gender shall be deemed and taken to include females”. • Other societies have attempted to the same, but was often conveniently overlooked.

6. The Pronoun Problem – cont’d • As of the 1990’s, the pronoun “he” along with “man” is not a truly generic term as is it was originally intended to be. • Because of the frequency of the misuse of such pronouns many people, especially women, feel that pronouns that were meant to be generic exclude women.

7. Solving the Pronoun Problem • Using “they” as a singular pronoun: • Most people use “they” as singular when writing and speaking informally. • However, many people are annoyed by the incorrect grammar of using “they” as a singular pronoun. • Nonetheless, the singular use of “they” occurs with increasing frequency.

8. Solving the Pronoun Problem – cont’d • Double-pronoun constructions have made a comeback: • Rather than just saying “he” and hoping that people will include females, some people have started using “he or she”. • However, overusing double-pronouns can sound awkward.

9. Solving the Pronoun Problem – cont’d • Eliminating pronouns all together: • One could avoid using pronouns at all. • For example, instead of saying • “a first grader can feed and dress himself” • “a first grader can eat and get dressed w/o assistance”

10. Conclusion • Gender-neutral language is an issue about audience and awareness, not about freedom of speech or rules on writing. • Most major textbook publishers, professional and academic groups (i.e. APA, New York Times, Wall Street Journal) support the use of gender-neutral language and avoid using language that isn’t. • Many law, psychology, and literature journals won’t print articles or papers that use gender-inclusive language.

11. Questions?