Gender sensitivity involves being aware of traditional gender roles and using inclusive language to eliminate assumptions. Gender-specific terms can have a negative cultural effect on women. Gender-neutral language benefits both men and women by offering more choice and eliminating assumptions about traditional roles. Pronoun choice is an important aspect of gender sensitivity.
Gender sensitivity is the act of being aware of the ways people think about gender, so that individuals make less assumptions about traditional and outdated views about the roles of men and women. In language and the humanities, this is often expressed through people’s choice of languages. People may choose more inclusive language that does not define gender, and many new words that are gender-neutral have entered languages such as English to replace more gender-specific terms.
For centuries, many words referring to all people were specifically masculine. Terms such as “man” and “humanity,” used to describe all human beings, exclude females. While some people argue that such terms include women, it has been argued that these words have a belittling effect on women. True gender sensitivity is said to go beyond these terms to include everyone and exclude no one.
It is further argued by experts that the use of such terms is not innocent at all and they have a negative cultural effect felt beyond words. By making women absent or not conspicuous in terms like “humanity,” they become less valuable and society will see them as having less value. This view of society in extreme forms is harmful and equates to discrimination and even, arguably, things like increased violence against women.
In language and the humanities, this argument is accepted, and a number of substitute words such as “humanity” express the gender sensibility of the present. In the late 1980s, when Star Trek: The Next Generation began airing, a familiar, more genre-sensitive replacement differed from the original series. The opening narration is changed so that “where no one has gone before”, becomes “where no one has been before”, with a great emphasis on the word “one”.
Some feminists suggest changing basic words with a masculine element to those with a specifically feminine element. Terms such as “history” have been proposed for “history”. This substitution is limited to transferring power from the masculine to the feminine, however disregarding the masculine gender. A common compromise is to use gender-neutral terms so that males and females are both included.
These terms can be obvious, such as firefighter and policeman, instead of firefighter or policeman. Pronouns are also often carefully considered, and writers may employ various tactics to remain gender-neutral. They may swing back and forth between masculine and feminine pronouns, use gender-free plural pronouns, or use terms like “one.” Being gender sensitive with pronoun choice often takes work.
At the heart of gender sensitivity in language is the goal of eliminating assumptions about gender boundaries, and this benefits both men and women. A stay-at-home parent isn’t automatically a mom, but can also be a dad. Such sensitivity from a linguistic basis offers more choice and gives people the opportunity to see themselves as individuals with different abilities, freeing themselves from assumptions about the traditional roles that men and women can fill.
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