INTRODUCTION

Sexism in language is a very important topic to research because it prevents the

categorization of a specific gender, either male or female, when engaging in a
conversation with someone or groups of persons. Although sexism in language
occurs almost all the time in our everyday lives, it is not done intentionally,
therefor, this research is being conducted to prove that when one is engaged in a
conversation with someone, they should not categorize the topic towards one
specific gender. The action of doing so is what we refer to today, as sexism in
language.

This project will be based on the following questions:

What is sexist language?
Reasons to avoid sexist language
What are the effects of sexist language on either gender?
How can one avoid using sexist language?
 WHAT IS SEXIST LANGUAGE

Sexist language is language that excludes either men or women when

discussing a topic that is applicable to both sexes. This includes using the word
man to refer to humanity, and using titles like congressman and fireman.
Another common error that shows gender bias is assuming that the subject of all
sentences is male.

REASONS TO AVOID SEXIST LANGUAGE

Sexist language encourages discrimination and can discourage people from

pursuing their dreams. If engineers are always spoken of as males, all girl who
aspires to become an engineer may be discouraged since all engineers are males or
men.

Sexist language also offends people when they find themselves excluded. This is
not an issue that violates your right to free speech as you are free to use offensive
language but, if you are using language that is offensive to your audience, you may
not get your message across to your entire audience. People will not be receptive to
your arguments if they are aggrieved by your use of exclusively masculine prone.

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EFFECTS OF SEXIST LANGUAGE ON EITHER
GENDER

It is obvious that sexist and non-inclusive language hurts women. It hurts their
status in society, it hurts them physically, and it hurts them psychologically. Think
about it women are ignored, and deprecated every day in general conversations as
well as important discourse. How could this not influence their status and mental
states?

Research shows that using male-dominated language reinforces sexist attitudes and
behaviors. Researchers claim, and I dont think it is much of a leap, that our
language shapes our thought, and the way we think influences our actions. If, as a
country, women are constantly thought of as inferior to men because of the way
language refers to them, people start to lose respect for women.

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STRATEGIES ONE MAY USE TO AVOID THE USE
OF SEXISM IN LANGUAGE

Keep in mind that the goal is not to refer to people as male or female, but to be
inclusionary when speaking in hypothetical statements or of mixed gender groups.
Sexist language can be avoided by the following:
Use humanity or human race instead of man or mankind when referring to
all people, especially in general meetings and concerts/speaking events.
If you are speaking of a single hypothetical individual, try using the word
person instead of man.
Use genderless titles whenever possible, such as flight attendant instead of
stewardess, firefighter instead of fireman.
Rework sentences in the plural to avoid gendered pronouns and possessive
adjectives. This will create smoother and more grammatically correct prose
than using a plural pronoun with a singular subject.

EXAMPLE:
- Sexist: each student makes up his own schedule
- Grammatically correct: each student makes up their own schedule
- Gender neutral and grammatically correct:
Students make up their own schedules.
NB: do not take gender inclusivity to the extremes; each specific individual has a
gender, and can be referred to in that way. Likewise, some biological facts apply
only to women or men.

CONCLUSION
The use of sexist language undermines the goal of non-discriminatory, inclusive
society. There are simple ways to avoid using language that can offend and
marginalize half the people on earth, so my advice to writers and general speakers
such as presidents, prime ministers and even leaders of small social groups, would
be to take into consideration the use of gender inclusive language when addressing
an audience.

REFLECTION
This research enlightens persons as to what is sexist language, reasons to avoided
sexist language. Also, the effects it has towards either genders and strategies one
may use to avoid using sexism in language. The research highlights that sexist
language has a greater effect on women than it does to men, and shows you how
other terms could be used so they would not be offended when being referred to.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://thelanguageweuse.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/the-effects-of-sexist-
language/

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page
What is sexist language? 1
Reasons to avoid sexist language 1
Effects of sexist language on either 2
gender
Strategies one my use to avoid sexism 3
in language
Conclusion 4
reflection 5
Names: Khearneil St. rose, Tevin James
Program: Quantity Surveying
Class: Communication Studies