The Language of Sexism How Gendered Language Encourages Workplace Sexism - Classy Career Girl

The Language of Sexism How Gendered Language Encourages Workplace Sexism Females are tough beings who are more than capable of overcoming sexist comments. Sticks and stones, right? The real problem is that sexist phrases carry more weight than innocent words. They represent real problems that have affected women for centuries. In the workplace, it can be sexual harassment, lower wages, fewer opportunities, or a general lack of respect. For young girls, it can be teen dating violence, microaggressive comments, or condescension. Women are stereotypically considered too emotional for leadership positions. Women universally deal with the phenomenon of being ignored. Even though weve taken several steps in the right direction, it is still too easy to come up with current and relevant examples. An important factor to evaluate this misogynistic narrative is the language used to convey it. Not only is it prevalent in sexist remarks, but elements of sexism encompass themselves into common, everyday language. The Language of Misogyny: How Gendered Language Encourages Workplace Sexism How Language Influences Society How you speak is largely influenced by your environment. Ten years ago, people only used the word literally when speaking in a literal sense, but now it is part of most people’s regular vocabulary as an interjection/filler word. Think about your accent and the tone of your voice as you move through sentences and talk to others. Most likely, you gathered these vocal characteristics from the world around you â€" by the way your parents taught you to speak, how your peers responded to you, by what you heard on TV. The way you express your thoughts are shaped by the world around you, so what you say is a reflection of the culture you live in. Just as companies design advertisements to subconsciously influence potential customers, the use of gender-biased language can subconsciously influence the way people think about each other. Your thoughts are often reflections of your social climate. Most of the phrases you say and jokes you make are from other people or sources. In this way, language is not only recognizant of but also a reinforcement of the culture around you. Gendered Nouns in Latin Languages Usually, cultures are largely influenced by the predominant groups in society. Since males have typically been a dominant group throughout history, language has been quietly yet clearly centralized around males. Latin languages perfectly demonstrate this phenomenon in that some assign gender to inanimate objects. Both French and Spanish gender nouns. There is no gender-neutral plural such as they. One important facet of this is how they gender groups of people. For example, if there is a group of 10 women, you use the feminine pronoun (elles, ellas) to refer to the group. However, if even one man enters the group, you immediately switch over to masculine pronouns (ils, ellos). The issue with this is that it sends the message that males are more important. Imagine if you, a female, are hanging out with five female friends and a male friend joins the group. Then a third party walks by and addresses you all as males. The cause of this might be a grammatical rule, but it still ignores the females that are present in the group. Additionally, there is almost always a correlation between gendered grammar and global sexism. Its a little more complicated when languages assign genders to every noun in the language (feminine moon, masculine sun, feminine street, masculine newspaper). Since these languages were created so many centuries ago, it is unclear why or how they chose the gender for each noun, but they have significant effects on cognition. [RELATED: Are Women Getting Equal Opportunities in Todays World?] Vanquishing Sexism in the English Language Although the English language does not gender nouns, it still propagates sexism in American culture. Phrases that show preference to males dont merely exist; theyre used every day. You can find gendered wording in everyday life and it commonly conveys hidden sexism in the workplace. Using phrases such as “you guys” or “dudes” when referring to females reproduces the problem of Latin languages gendering groups as male, even with a majority of females. Additionally, exclamations such as “oh, boy!” or “oh, man” clearly favor males. Automatically (and incorrectly) gendering groups of people or using idioms may not seem like a problem because it’s common and seems normal to hear (whats wrong with saying hey, guys! to a bunch of women, you may ask?). Try calling a group of men “ladies,” “girls,” “darling”â€" anything feminine. It doesn’t work. This is because the narrative promoted by these sexist phrases is that it is insulting to be feminine, but favorable to be masculine. Calling women “girls” is another example of why language matters. This habit is common and toxic as it refers to a child. Using it to label an adult female is degrading. Though many equate this to calling men “guys,” in reality, its the equivalent of calling men “boys,” which is not acceptable in common language usage. Eliminating male-centric language is the first step to moving forward and eradicating sexism in language. Gender-neutral terms are gaining popularity around the world, particularly in Europe. Countries, such as Sweden, are adding gender-neutral pronouns to their dictionaries. Universities in the United States such as Yale are favoring gender-neutral terms by replacing terms such as “freshmen” and “upperclassmen” with “first-year” and “upper-level” students. Anyone can help in the advancement toward equality. The first step is understanding the problem. It’s not that women dislike attention being given to men, but in addition to not receiving the same attention themselves, it promotes the idea that women are generally less important. Taking it upon yourself to be conscious about the language you use to portray women will make a difference in your life and the lives of people around you. Speak about the women in your life with respect. Don’t pass unnecessary judgment on women in your life based on trivial aspects such as romantic encounters or physical appearance. Watching your language and consciously making an effort to eliminate biased terminology on your part can help you advocate for equality. Words are only one expression of sexism out of many, and though they are important indicators of the issue, many of the other facets of the issue pose a danger to women. It’s not a matter of if equality should be realized, but a matter of why it hasn’t been realized yetâ€"and how we can make it happen.