1. Gender Language & the Question of
Neutrality in Teaching!
By
Mustapha Boughoulid
mustbough@gmail.com
2. I-« Sex differences » or « Gender
differences »!?
NB: Sometimes it is hard to
understand exactly what is meant
by the term « Gender », and how it
differs from the closely related
term « Sex ».
3. -Many people use the two words incorrectly,
as interchangeable, when they signify two very
different things:
a- « Sex » refers to the biological and
physiological characteristics that separate male
from female.
b- « Gender » refers to the socially constructed
roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a
given society considers appropriate for men
and women.
4. II-Why gender matters in
teaching?
Sexist Language:
It’s the act of excluding either men or women
when discussing a topic that is applicable to
both sexes.
Among the common errors that show gender
bias is assuming that the subject of all
sentences is male.
Men become the norm & women the ‘other’.
5. Example:
a-‘‘Each student chose his own topic…’’, leads
the reader to assume that all the students are
males.
b-(‘‘Each student chose his/her topic…’’.
This is an easy edit that introduces stylistic
clunkers such as ‘his/her’ & ‘s/he’ or the
questionable grammar for a mixed version
such as:
‘‘One should wash their hands every day’’
( ‘one’ is singular, but ‘their’ is plural)
6. One of the underlying contributions to
this issue is the attitudes we have
towards each other based on gender
stereotypes.
Two questions for boys & girls:
1-What does it mean to ‘‘ Act Like a
Man’’ in our society?
(Answers: tough, muscles, be a leader,
rough sports, don’t cry, strong, nothing
stands in the way …)
7. 2-What does it mean to be
« Ladylike » in our society?
(Answers: pretty, nice, polite, gentle,
sensitive, cry all the time, well dressed,
good manners, don’t fight, loyal, depend
on guys …)
8. III-Where do we learn these
attitudes?
-Peers;
-Family;
-Magazines;
-TV;
-Movies;
-Video games;
-School;
-(…)
9. VI-How can we opt for a gender
neutral language in teaching?
‘‘ A good policeman knows his duty’’.
‘‘ A good police officer knows
his/her duty’’.
‘‘Good police officers know their
duty’’.
10. Remarks:
The first phrase unnecessarily excludes
women;
Replacing ‘‘his’’ with ‘‘his / her’’ in the
second phrase will sound tedious;
Pluralizing is often a good solution:
(Good police officers know their duty.)
11. Activity/Quiz:
The following sentences contain
gender bias which we should
remove by using gender neutral
language.
NB: Grammar changes to meet the
needs of its users:
12. Sentence 1:
‘‘ A professor should correct his students'
papers according to this set of predetermined
guidelines’’.
Grammar’s version:
‘‘Professors should correct their students'
papers according to this set of predetermined
guidelines’’.
13. Sentence 2:
‘‘From the beginning of time, mankind used
horses in one way or another’’.
Grammar’s version:
‘‘From the beginning of time, humans used
horses in one way or another’’.
14. Sentence 3:
‘‘Are there any freshmen who would like to
work in the Writing Center?’’
Grammar’s version:
‘‘Are there any first-year students who would
like to work in the Writing Center?’’
15. Sentence 4:
‘‘The stewardess served the chicken picatta to
the pompous gentleman’’.
Grammar’s version:
‘‘The flight attendant served the chicken
picatta to the pompous gentleman’’.
16. Sentence 5:
‘‘Shannon was hoping a doctor would give his
opinion’’.
Grammar’s v ersion:
‘‘Shannon was hoping a doctor would give an
opinion’’.
17. Sentence 6:
‘‘The authoress, Mary Higgins Clark, hosted a
book signing at Barnes and Noble ’’.
.
Grammar’s version:
‘‘The author, Mary Higgins Clark, hosted a
book signing at Barnes and Noble’’.
18. Sentence 7:
‘‘Ask Hayden's mother to pack him a better
lunch in the future’’.
Grammar’s version:
‘‘Ask Hayden's parents to pack him a better
lunch in the future’’.
19. Sentence 8:
‘‘A college is a corner of men's hearts where
hope has not died. Here the prison house has
not closed; here no battle is yet quite lost.
Here, we assert, endow, and defend as final
reality the best of our dream as men. Here lies
our sense of community. ’’
__ Howard Lowry
20. How would we write this piece of text
differently today?
How about: "A college is a corner of our hearts where
hope has not died"? and "Here, we assert, endow, and
defend as final reality the best of our dreams."?
We certainly have not improved upon the sound of
Lowry's words, but have we lost anything by these
changes? Probably not much, and what we have lost,
we've more than gained by decreasing the chances
of offending or marginalizing an entire gender from
the definition of a college — something that would
never have entered Howard Lowry's unbiased mind
and generous heart.
21. V-Pluralizing or alternating the
gender of the people:
‘‘A writer should sharpen her pencils daily.
A reader should keep his eyes open’’.
More widely accepted strategies for avoiding
sexist language include pluralizing:
‘‘Writers should sharpen their pencils.
Readers should keep their eyes open’’.
22. Conclusion
If we change the way we teach, we
will change the way we think, so
that we do not perpetuate the
imbalanced cultural view that
shaped our language.
