Gender-neutral language orgender-inclusive language is language that avoids reference towards a particular sex or gender. In English, this includes use of nouns that are not gender-specific to refer to roles or professions,[1] formation of phrases in a coequal manner, and discontinuing the collective use of male or female terms.[2] For example, the wordspoliceman[3][4] andstewardess[5][6] aregender-specific job titles; the correspondinggender-neutral terms arepolice officer[7][8] andflight attendant.[9][10] Other gender-specific terms, such asactor andactress, may be replaced by the originally male term; for example,actor used regardless of gender.[11][12][13] Some terms, such aschairman,[14][15] that contain the component-man but have traditionally been used to refer to persons regardless of sex are now seen by some as gender-specific.[16] An example of forming phrases in a coequal manner would be usinghusband and wife instead ofman and wife.[17] Examples of discontinuing the collective use of terms in English when referring to those with unknown or indeterminate gender assingularthey, and usinghumans,people, orhumankind, instead ofman ormankind.[18]
The notion that parts of theEnglish language were sexist was brought to mainstream attention in Western English cultures by feminists in the 1970s.[19] Simultaneously, the link between language and ideologies (including traditional gender ideologies) was becoming apparent in the academic field of linguistics.[20] In 1975, theNational Council of Teachers of English published a set of guidelines on the use of "non-sexist" language.[21][22] Backlash ensued, as did the debate on whether gender-neutral language ought to be enforced.[22][19] In Britain, feministMaija Blaubergs' countered eight commonly used oppositional arguments in 1980.[23] In 1983, New South Wales, Australia required the use ofthey in place ofhe andshe in subsequent laws.[24] In 1985, the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion passed a motion for all its ensuing publications to include "non-sexist" language.[25] By 1995, academic institutions in Canada and Britain had implemented "non-sexist" language policies.[26][27] More recently, revisions to the Women's Press publications ofThe Handbook of Nonsexist Writing andThe A–Z of Non-Sexist Language were made to de-radicalize the original works.[27] In 2006, "non-sexist" was challenged: the term refers solely to the absence of sexism.[27] In 2018, the State of New York enacted policy to formally use the gender-neutral termspolice officer andfirefighter.[24]
Historically, the use of masculine pronouns in place of generic was regarded as non-sexist, but various forms of gender-neutral language have become a common feature in written and spoken versions of many languages in the late twentieth century.Feminists argue that previously the practice of assigning masculine gender togeneric antecedents stemmed from language reflecting "the prejudices of the society in which it evolved, and English evolved through most of its history in a male-centered,patriarchal society."[28] During the 1970s, feministsCasey Miller andKate Swift created a manual,The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing, on gender neutral language that was set to reform the existing sexist language that was said to exclude and dehumanize women.[29] In 1995, the Women's Press publishedThe A–Z of Non-Sexist Language, by Margaret Doyle.[30] Both publications were written by American authors, originally without the consideration of theBritish-English dialect.[30] Many feminist efforts were made to reform theandrocentric language.[31] It has become common in some academic and governmental settings to rely on gender-neutral language to convey inclusion of all sexes or genders (gender-inclusive language).[32][33]
Various languages employ different means to achieve gender neutrality:
There are different approaches in forming a "gender-neutral language":
Neutralising any reference togender or sex, like using"they" as a third-person singular pronoun instead of "he" or "she", and proscribing words likeactress (female actor) and prescribing the use of words likeactor for persons of any gender. Although it has generally been accepted in the English language, some argue that using "they" as a singular pronoun is considered grammatically incorrect, but acceptable in informal writing.[34]
Creating alternative gender-neutral pronouns, such as "hir" or "hen" in Swedish.[35]
Indicating the gender by using wordings like "he or she" and "actors and actresses".
Avoiding the use of "him/her" or the third-person singular pronoun "they" by using "the" or restructuring the sentence all together to avoid all three.[34]
NASA now prefers the use of "crewed" and "uncrewed" instead of "manned" and "unmanned", including when discussing historical spaceflight (except proper nouns).[36]
Examples of gender indication in occupational titles[37]
Gendered title
Gender-neutral title
businessman, businesswoman
business person/person in business, business people/people in business
Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, implemented a policy in June 2022 that forbade public educational institutions from using gender-neutral language on the basis that gender-neutral language is grammatically incorrect and causes developmental learning issues for students.[38] In the Spanish language nouns are either feminine (usually ending in "a") or masculine (usually ending in "o"), but in recent years gender-neutral endings like "x" and "e" have gained popularity; for example, "Latinx" or "Latine" have become the gender-neutral options for the previously binary "Latino" or "Latina."[39] Buenos Aires' objection to gender-neutral language in the classroom stems from concerns about linguistic correctness and preservation of the Spanish language.[38] Those who support the development of gender-neutral language have expressed frustration with the male-dominance of the Spanish language: a group of students who are all female is "compañeras," but if one male student enters the group, the grammatically correct term for the students becomes "compañeros" with the masculine "o" ending.[39]
In 2021, controversy spiked inFrance when the dictionaryPetit Robert included the gender neutral termiel – composed ofil ('he') andelle ('she'). The dictionary's director, Charles Bimbenet, stated it was added as researchers noted "an increasing usage" of the neutral pronoun in "a large body of texts drawn from various sources."[42] However, a number of French politicians have opposed the new addition.
TheItalian language contains grammatical gender where nouns are either masculine or feminine with corresponding gendered pronouns, which differs from English in that nouns do not encode grammatical gender.[45] For example, "tavola" (in Englishtable) in Italian is feminine. Developing a gender-neutral option in Italian is linguistically challenging because the Italian language marks only the masculine and feminine grammatical genders: "friends" in Italian is either "amici" or "amiche" where the masculine "-i" pluralized ending is used as an all-encompassing term, and "amiche" with the feminine "-e" pluralized ending refers specifically to a group of female friends.[45] Italian linguistically derived fromLatin, which does contain a third"neuter" or neutral option.[45]
The use of aschwa <ə> has been suggested to create an Italian gender-neutral language option.[46] Some Italian linguists have signed a petition opposing the use of the schwa on the basis it is not linguistically correct.[47] Other solutions proposed are theasterisk <*>, the <x>, theat sign <@>, the <u> and omitting gender-specific suffixes altogether.[48]
TheAmerican English language contains gendered connotations that make it challenging for gender-neutral language to achieve the desired linguistic equality. "Male default" is especially prominent in the United States and often when gender-neutral language is used around traditionally male institutions, the neutrality does not prevent people from automatically translating "they" to the default "he."[49]
TheSupreme Court of the Philippines in a 16-pagejudgment promulgated in October 2023, reminded "judicial officers to be circumspect in their language after it observed that both the judge and prosecutor in the case used nongender-fair language. Together, the foregoing reinforces the trope that women are out to entrap men into marriage. The disparaging language shifts the blame on the woman for marrying the unfaithful man after getting pregnant as if society did not stigmatize single mothers,” Acting Chief JusticeMarvic Leonen held.[50]
Bojarska, Katarzyna (2012). "Responding to lexical stimuli with gender associations: A Cognitive–Cultural Model".Journal of Language and Social Psychology.32: 46.doi:10.1177/0261927X12463008.S2CID145006661.
Gabriel, Ute; Gygax, Pascal (October 2008). "Can societal language amendments change gender representation? The case of Norway".Scandinavian Journal of Psychology.49 (5):451–457.doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.2008.00650.x.ISSN0036-5564.PMID18452502.
Prewitt-Freilino, Jennifer L.; Caswell, T. Andrew; Laakso, Emmi K. (2012). "The Gendering of Language: A Comparison of Gender Equality in Countries with Gendered, Natural Gender, and Genderless Languages".Sex Roles.66 (3–4):268–281.doi:10.1007/s11199-011-0083-5.ISSN0360-0025.S2CID145066913.
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