Language is a very powerful and effective element. It is a common method of human communication. It could also be an effective weapon when misinterpreted or misunderstood. In my opinion (and I'm sure that many would agree with me), the English Language is one of the most gender-biased languages ever created. Any item of language that trivialises, insults, implies that women are invisible and more inferior than their male counterparts is regarded as sexist language or gender-biased language. It is quite disheartening to accept the fact that sexism in the English Language is so pervasive; it has become the 'norm' in society. What's worse, there are many who are still ignorant about this issue. There are also those (a large percentage of whom are men, mind you!) who deem it unnecessary to change the rules of the language, instead of improving it to promote equality between both sexes. Men are always associated with glorified and exalted positions in society as compared to women who are identified with service-oriented positions in which they are bossed and dominated by men. Therefore there has to be efforts made to place women on the same linguistic standing as men. This can only be achieved by eradicating gender-specific language from everyday speech.

A world-renowned English novelist, Thomas Hardy once said in his book, Portrait of a Lady, "It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in a language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs." The fact is that women often build things that are "man-made". If it is "one man one vote" what do you make out of votes cast by women? "The working man" could be a diligent and accomplished woman with a string of achievements.

Have you noticed that in the English language, the masculine word often precedes the feminine word? His and hers, boys and girls, Kings and Queens, brothers and sisters and Mr. And Mrs are but some of the examples.

According to some linguistic differences, to be a man is considered an honour. There are greater positive connotations related to being man than being a woman. Let us look at the example of "shrew" and "shrewd". "Shrew" is identified as a bad-tempered or scolding woman. Shrewd comes from the same root word but is defined as clever or judicious and it was noted in Nielson's Dictionary as "a shrewd businessman", implying that men have more intellectual capabilities than women.

I would like to quote a few sentences from an article, written by Casey Miller (an avid advocate of non-sexist language) entitled "One Small Step for Genkind", "Except for words that refer to females by definition (mother, actress congresswoman), and words for occupations traditionally held by females (nurse, secretary, prostitute), the English language defines everyone as male. The assumption is that unless otherwise identified, people in general - including doctors and beggars - are men." Now how are we going to eliminate such parochial perception? What can one do to eliminate gender-bias terms in the English language? Here are some suggestions that I have derived from the Internet:

" Plural pronouns should be used instead of masculine pronouns.
Gender-bias : A student should study consistently in order for him to
achieve good results.
Gender-neutral: Students should study consistently in order for them to
achieve good results.

" Use gender-neutral terms like "one", "person", "individual":

Gender-bias : His father is a businessman.
Gender-neutral: That person's father is a business executive.

" Use "he or she" or " her or him" when a pronoun is required. When using this, the arrangement should be in alphabetical order.

Gender-bias : Ask him to wait.
Gender-neutral: Ask her or him to wait.

" The use of the word "girl" should be omitted. Many women and men find this term disrespectful. (The definition of "girl" is a female child) Females over the age of 18 should be called women not "gals" or "ladies". Teenage girls should be addressed as "young women".

" Parallel terms should be used for both sexes. Ladies and gentleman, men and women, husband and wife (NOT man and wife) are some of the common examples. Ladies should be used only when men are being referred to as gentlemen.

Eliminating gender-specific language is an on-going process. Both men and women need to be represented as whole human beings and not as being bound to masculine or feminine characteristics. Unless we make a sound effort to change the way we talk, we will not change the way we think.

Article by,
Shish_kebab