FOR A FREE GENDER BIASED

WORLDL A N G U A G E A N D G E N D E R

Nerea Heredero Hernández

UAH – Sociolinguistics

2013/2014

LABELS AGAINST WOMEN

LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT

The limits of my language are the

limits of my mind. All I know is what I

have words for.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

MIND CHANGE

J u s t a b r i e f r e m i n d e r :

• G e n d e r ≠ S e x .

Conventional ≠ Biological.

• More inclusive usage of gender.

Ø Use and abuse of generic masculine.

Controversy- (Sp) Should the use of the masculine be

extended to women?

Ø Andocentric bias.

Ø Stereotypes. A nurse does not necessarily have

to be a woman.

FREE GENDER BIASED WRITING

1. Gender neutrality

2. Gender marking job titles

3. Pronouns

4. Alternate genders and pronouns

5. Singular use “they”

6. Eliminate the pronoun altogether

7. Everybody/ everyone, somebody,

someone

gendered noun gender-neutral noun

man person, individual

Freshman first-year student

Mankind people, human beings, humanity

Man-made machine-made, synthetic

The common-man the average (or ordinary) person

To man to operate, to cover, to staff

chairman chair, chairperson, coordinator

mailman mail carrier, letter carrier, postal worker

policeman police officer

steward, stewardess flight attendant

congressman congress person, legislator,

representative

Dear Sir: Dear Sir or Madam:, Dear Editor:, Dear

Service Representative:, To Whom it May

Concern:

R E F E R E N C E S

Gender Sensitive Writing Retrieved from University of North Carolina site:

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/

Carreaga Castrillo, P. (2012, March 13th) No es Gramática, es ideología. El País. Retrieved

from blogs.elpais.com/mujeres/2012/.../por-qué-habla-ahora-la-academia.html

-. (2013 November 10th). Lo femenino es “débil” y lo masculino es “enérgico”, según la

RAE. ABC. Retrieved from: http://www.abc.es/cultura/20131110/abci-femenino-

masculino-201311101142.html

Kennedy, C. (2007) Language and Gender [PDF document]. Retrieved from Department of

Linguistics University of Chicago site: http://semantics.uchicago.edu

Wikipedia.com

F U R T H E R I N F O R M AT I O N

(YouTube)

5 Minutes Of What The Media Actually Does To Women

How Conservative Media Treated Women In 2013

How the Media Failed Women in 2013

(Essays)

Shitemi, L. Naomi (2009) Language and Gender

The Handbook of Language and Gender

About.com- Grammar and Composition.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION.