GENDER SENSITIVITY AND EQUALITY POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

Modern dictionaries indicate that the definition that links man with males is the predominant one; studies of college students and school children indicate that even when the broad definitions of man and men are taught, they tend to conjure images of male people only. The examples below seem disconcerting and awkward for this reason: 1. Development of the Uterus in Rats, Guinea Pigs, and Men (title of a research report) 2. The pap test, which has greatly reduced cancer, is a boon to mankind Once youve started to recognize that problems can arise with using man as a generic pronoun, how can you prevent confusion? This is avoided buy suing gender-neutral, gender-free, or non-sexist language. Concern about the use of sexist language is part of our increased awareness that the perceived meanings of some words have changed in response to the changing roles of men and women in our society. Gender-neutral words are words that can be applied to both male and female. Examples are teacher, doctor, human resource, etc. Use of gender-neutral words shows equality of the sexes in a society where men and women h\share equal opportunities, responsibilities, rights and privileges. If you will write or speak with non-sexist language, you represent with fairness the gender identified with many words. Chairman is a dramatically accepted tern, but to use chairperson makes one a more effective speaker in a culture-based society. Guidelines o avoid sexist writing 1. Use both male and female pronouns together. Sexist: Non-sexist: Ask the teacher his telephone number. Ask the teacher his/her telephone number.

2. Use an article to replace the sexist he. Sexist: Non-sexist: Someone has to bring his video camera. Someone has to bring a video camera.

3. Replace the sentence to avoid the need for a pronoun. Sexist: Non-sexist: The customer went in search of a mechanic to ask him for advice. The customer went in search of a mechanic to ask for advice.

4. Generic use of man and other words with masculine markers should be avoided. Examples Mankind Mans achievements The best man for the job Man-made The common man Man the office Nine man-hours Chairman Alternatives

Humanity, people, human beings Human achievements The person for the job Synthetic, manufactured, machine-made The average person, ordinary person Staff the office Nine staff-hours Coordinator (of a committee or department), Moderator (of a meeting), presiding officer, Chairperson, head, chair Businessman Business executive Fireman Firefighter Mailman Mail carrier Steward and stewardess Flight attendant Policeman and policewoman Police officer Congressman Congressional representative Though many people believe that sexist language is offensive, one should however, avoid stylistic clunkers to avoid grammatical errors. Unless your goal is to offend or annoy your reader or audience, follow grammatical conventions. Stylistic Clunkers Nobody is an island. None of us are islands. Your language may be non-sexist but you may end up sounding ignorant and silly to a person who is familiar with the quote No man is an island. to boldly go where no man or woman has gone before The original Star Trek opened with a gender-specific term man, but the TV sequel changed it to one. Where no man, however, is grammatically accepted because man carries the idea of humanity.

References: Go, M. B.; bernardo, M. P.; Jambalos, T. V.; and Manalo, C. Z. (2003). Communication Improvement for Effecrtive Oral Persentation (Rev. D\Edition). Manila: CEU Jacobson, C. Some notes in Gender-Neutral Language (1995). http://www.stetsonedu/departments/history/nongenderlang.html