GENDER-FAIR
LANGUAGE
Module 6
GEE 2 (Gender and Society)
First Semester, 2022-2023
RDSagun
GENDER-FAIR LANGUAGE (GFL)
• aims at reducing gender stereotyping and discrimination.
• Two principle strategies have been employed to make languages gender-
fair and to treat women and men symmetrically: neutralization and
feminization.
• Neutralization is achieved, for example, by replacing male-masculine forms
(policeman) with gender-unmarked forms (police officer).
• Feminization relies on the use of feminine forms to make female referents
visible.
SEXISM IN LANGUAGE
• It is the use of language which devalues members of one sex, almost
invariably women, and thus fosters gender inequality.
• It discriminates against women by rendering them invisible or trivializing
them at the same time that it perpetuates notions of male supremacy.
WHY THE CONCERN ABOUT
MERE WORDS
Language articulates consciousness. It not only orders out through but from
infancy, we learn to use language to give utterance to our basic needs and
feelings.
Language reflects culture. It encodes and transmits cultural meanings and
values in our society.
Language affects socialization. Children learning a language absorb the
cultural assumptions and biases underlying language use and see these as
an index to their society’s values and attitudes. Social inequity reflected in
language can thus powerfully affect a child’s later behavior and beliefs.
VIOLATIONS OF GENDER-FAIR LANGUAGE
• Sexist language is a tool that reinforces unequal gender relations through
sex-role stereotypes, microaggressions, and sexual harassment.
Language can be used to abuse, such as in the case of sexual
harassment, or to perpetuate stereotypes. It can form subtle messages
that reinforce unfair relations, such as how “men cannot take care of
children” or “women cannot be engineers” which may impact how one
views his or her capabilities.
• All in all, language is a powerful force that plays a significant role in how
one perceives the world. Thelma Kintanar gave extensive examples of
these violations in her book. The following are condensed versions and
real-life examples of violations of gender-fair language.
INVISIBILIZATION OF WOMEN
The invisibilization of women is rooted in the assumption that men
are dominant and are the norm of the fullness of humanity, and
women do not exist. Some obvious examples of women
invisibilization in language are:
• The generic use of masculine pronouns or the use of masculine
in general.
• The assumption that certain functions or jobs are performed by
men instead of both genders.
• The use of male of job titles or terms ending in man to refer to
functions that may be given to both genders.
TRIVIALIZATION OF WOMEN
Bringing attention to the gender of a person, if that person is a
woman. (e.g. “girl athlete”, “lady guard”, “male nannies”, “male
nurses”)
The perception of women as immature. (e.g. women being labeled
as “darling”, “baby”)
The objectification or likening to objects, of women. (e.g. “honey”,
“chick”)
FOSTERING UNEQUAL
GENDER RELATIONS
Language that lacks parallelism fosters unequal gender relations.
The use of “man and wife” assumes that men are still men and
women’s identities are subsumed and shifted into beings in relation
to their husbands.
GENDER POLARIZATION OF
WORDS IN USE OF ADJECTIVES
The personal care brand Dove recently came out with an
advertisement that used parallel adjectives to show the difference
in perception regarding men and women. Both men and women
did the same activity, but were described differently. In the ad,
men who took the lead were considered the “boss”, while women
who had the same initiative were “bossy”. Men who worked
overtime were seen as “providers”, while women who did the
same were seen as “uncaring”. This polarization of adjective
shows how perception does change how one sees certain acts,
depending on who performs them.
TOWARDS A GENDER-FAIR
LANGUAGE
Today, the use of gender-fair language in institutions of education
and the removal of sexist language as imperative to gender
responsiveness is currently being advocated.
Gender neutral language or pronouns are being used now
Gabriela women’s party national president and party-list
representative, Liza Maza called for a ban of sexist language in all
official communication and documents in the house of
representatives
