Gender-neutral language avoids specific gender pronouns and nouns to promote inclusivity and avoid sexism. Using both genders and plural pronouns can help produce gender-neutral language. It is not the same as genderless language, where nouns have no grammatical gender.
Gender-neutral language is the use of pronouns and nouns that do not indicate a specific gender or that are more inclusive of both male and female individuals. This is often seen in general third person writing where a non-specific character is referred to through the use of a phrase such as “he or she” rather than “he” or “she”. A wide range of nouns, usually for different professions or similar descriptions, can indicate a particular gender, such as “police officer” or “actress”, so other terms may be preferable for gender neutrality, such as “police officer” or “performer”. .” Gender-neutral language is not the same as genderless language, which refers to language in which nouns have not been given a grammatical gender.
The purpose of gender-neutral language is for someone to write or speak in a way that doesn’t come across as sexist or promote one particular gender over another. In English, for example, many pronouns and nouns have been crafted in a way that has been seen as strong masculine bias. Writers often used “man” to mean all people, and this use of a gender-specific name can be seen as sexist towards women. Using gender-neutral language allows writers to avoid this problem and ensure that their writing is more widely accessible.
There are several ways to ensure gender-neutral written language, although one of the most common methods is to include both genders. Instead of writing, “When someone uses a computer, he should turn it on first,” someone can write, “When someone uses a computer, he should turn it on first.” This includes both genders and allows for gender-neutral language throughout a piece of writing.
Plural pronouns can also help produce gender-neutral language. This is often done to reduce the use of the phrases “its his or hers” or “he or she” which can make a piece of writing clunky. Instead of writing, “A teacher should try to engage her students,” a writer can simply write, “Teachers should try to engage their students.” It can also be beneficial for someone to look for names that have a gender bias, like “firefighter” and “stewardess,” and use names like “firefighter” and “flight attendant” instead.
Gender-neutral language should not be confused with genderless language. A genderless language is a language in which nouns are not assigned a grammatical gender. English, for example, is a genderless language, and nouns like “table,” “chair,” and “cat” have no grammatical gender. In other languages, such as French, Spanish, and German, these terms have genders that determine which articles can be used with them.
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