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The problem here is that if we don't try to change things - nothing will get changed. Our language is currently sexist by default and if we don't try to change
by sambeau 12y ago
The problem here is that if we don't try to change things - nothing will get changed. Our language is currently sexist by default and if we don't try to change that it will remain sexist by default.
Why would anyone not want to change that? It's beyond me. If our language was racist by default we would rightly want to change it.
"To operate the vehicle a white man should insert his white man's key into the ignition and turn clockwise..."
It looks crazy. But that's the world we inhabit for gendered language.
I'm not a woman but I would be livid if every time someone made a concerted effort to remove gendered language someone reverted it on 'principle'. I'd be calling for people's heads let alone their jobs!
I don't think it's much to ask for us to try to fix this. If we can't do it from the top down, what is wrong with attempting to do it from the bottom up?
- ryanlol 12y agoThat's nonsense, English isn't sexist by default. It's only sexist if you decide to make it so, e.g. by intentionally misinterpreting it.
- sambeau 12y agoThe problem with that argument is that sexism is subjective and it is up to those being discriminated against to decide what is a discriminatory act, not the perpetrators. There is no deliberate misinterpretation. The fact that there are so many women who find our default use of male gender in English discriminatory is proof of discrimination - whether deliberate or not. You can't just wave it away as "nonsense". It is such a simple thing to change - and it hurts no-one to do it. Why wouldn't we just do it if only to make those people happy?