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return
to list of language debates
To read about this topic in The Bedford
Handbook, see section
17f. |
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During the early years of the
women’s movement, sexist language was a hotly debated
topic. Many people, both men and women, felt there was
nothing wrong with using he to mean he or
she or with using words like mankind—and
they resented being asked to change their ways. They
argued that according to tradition everyone knew that
such terms included women.
Feminists attempted
to expose the absurdity of this view with sentences like these:
Man, like the other mammals, breast-feeds his
young.
Everyone should be able to decide for himself whether
to have an abortion.
In addition,
feminists argued that sexist language has a powerful
negative impact on women: It makes women invisible,
reinforces stereotypical gender roles, and limits
women’s opportunities and even their
aspirations.
Today those early
battles are largely over. Many people, both men and
women, now find sexist language offensive. And most
writers, no matter what their personal feelings on the
issue, don’t want to risk offending readers.
Any remaining
controversy centers on ways of avoiding one form of
sexist language: use of the generic he. See
pronoun-antecedent agreement.
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