Be a Better Writer -- GENDER NEUTRAL LANGUAGE
Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 10:09 am
Contemporary writing standards in many areas of the publishing industry call for gender neutral language. Before I get into some examples of what gender neutral language looks like and in what circumstances you should use it, I’ll try to head off some possible objections.
1. I’m not talking about (and I’m not in favor of) groups who have taken gender neutral language to the Bible, and have changed God the Father into a more generic “parent,” for example.
2. I’m also not in favor of changing the words of anything in literature that has already been written and published. I know that there are gender neutral hymnals, for example. In my opinion, it’s not right to change the words of a song or a poem that someone else wrote, just to make it gender neutral.
3. This is not a lesson on political correctness (although it’s probably true that the push for gender neutral language is at least partially rooted in something like political correctness). I hope to show that in most cases, gender neutral language is more accurate or less confusing, and thus it is better writing.
This lesson is really for nonfiction writing: everything from devotionals to company reports to blog posts to academic papers for a class you may be taking. Fiction writers—continue to use pronouns just as you’ve been doing. Most of this won’t apply to you.
For the rest of this lesson, I’ll give examples of the “old” way of writing certain phrases, and give gender neutral suggestions. Keep in mind, please, that this is what’s preferred by most publishers, and learning this skill may help your writing to get published. Some publishers, however, do not require (or may even dislike) gender neutral language, so it will be worth your while to do a bit of research. But if you’re trying to get an article accepted by a publisher that requires gender neutral language, then this lesson is for you.
• Instead of using gender specific nouns for occupations, whenever possible, use a word that would apply equally to all people. For example, write police officer instead of policeman. Sometimes there is a word for a female in a certain occupation when the male word could be used just as well; actor, for example, can be both male and female. If the reader needs to know the gender of the person, that can be worked into the sentence:
The police officer pulled her gun from its holster.
Once on stage, the actor turned to address the audience. “Thank you for your gracious applause,” she said.
• Instead of using a masculine pronoun (he, him, his) to apply to all people, re-write so that such a pronoun is not necessary.
Instead of this:
The student should write his answer with a #2 pencil.
Write this:
Students should write their answers with #2 pencils.
Similarly, there are several synonyms for mankind available. Therefore instead of writing this:
All of mankind is waiting for peace on earth.
Write this:
Everyone is waiting for peace on earth.
Or this:
All people everywhere are waiting for peace on earth.
• Do not use the slashed words he/she or him/her, and try to avoid his or her, he or she, and similar phrases. Instead, find a way to re-write those sentences. For example, instead of this:
When your Meals on Wheels recipient opens the door, deliver the meal to him/her with a smile.
When your Meals on Wheels recipient opens the door, deliver the meal to him or her with a smile.
Write this:
When your Meals on Wheels recipient opens the door, deliver the meal with a smile.
When Mr. Jones opens the door, deliver your Meals on Wheels food to him with a smile.
When Mrs. Smith opens the door, deliver your Meals on Wheels food to her with a smile.
Alternatively, if you’re writing something where the issue of pronouns comes up frequently, you could alternate male and female pronouns. Don’t alternate from sentence to sentence, as that might confuse your reader—but perhaps within each new section you could switch pronoun types.
If you’ve been reading these lessons of mine for a while, you may have noticed that I tend to use female pronouns in sentences like You don’t want to confuse your reader; she may not understand that Aunt Doris was a kleptomaniac. I do this for a few reasons: first, because the majority of FaithWriters are women, so using a female pronoun is more accurate, and second, because (I freely admit it) I’m a bit of a rebel. But I’ve always had this lesson in the back of my mind, and have always thought that it was a good thing for readers of these lessons to see alternatives to male-only pronouns when referring to hypothetical or abstract people.
Of course—I actually probably don’t even need to say this—if the gender of the person being written about is known, or if it’s necessary to use one gender rather than the other, by all means, use the gender specific pronoun.
• English doesn’t really have a gender neutral pronoun that works in sentences like this:
If anybody wants to know where the surprise party is, tell ____________ to text me.
Some people would use them in the blank, but them doesn’t really work with anybody, which is a singular pronoun. Some people would use him in the blank, but him doesn’t work if the person who needs to know about the surprise party is female. And as I wrote in the last bullet point, him or her is awkward. In this sentence, using him or her actually makes it sound as if the person’s gender is unknown.
The solution is to rewrite. There are several ways you could do that:
If you want to know where the surprise party is, text me.
People who want to know where the surprise party is should text me.
***
There are many, many more ways that nonfiction language can be made gender neutral, but I think you probably have the idea. The key idea is this: When it is possible and appropriate to do so, use gender neutral language in nonfiction.
I suspect that this will annoy some of you. You may think that it’s too ‘PC,’ or unnecessary, or feminist, or ridiculous. But the fact is, this is what is required if you wish to conform to contemporary standards of writing, and it is also, in many cases, a more accurate way to write.
HOMEWORK:
Rewrite these sentences or phrases to be gender neutral (there are several correct answers for each item).
1. …to boldly go where no man has gone before
2. A two-year-old usually clings to his mother in unfamiliar places.
3. The stewardess wrote a complaint letter to the chairman of the union.
4. The student should raise his hand if he needs to leave the room during the test.
5. The good news of the gospel is for all mankind.
6. Anyone who is unhappy with his study partner should notify the professor about him or her.
Questions or comments about gender neutral language? I’d love to try to answer them for you.
I’ve noted your ideas for new lessons, and many of those ideas will show up here in the coming weeks. I always welcome more ideas, and I’ll also mention that grammar questions should go to Ann’s forum, which you can find here.
1. I’m not talking about (and I’m not in favor of) groups who have taken gender neutral language to the Bible, and have changed God the Father into a more generic “parent,” for example.
2. I’m also not in favor of changing the words of anything in literature that has already been written and published. I know that there are gender neutral hymnals, for example. In my opinion, it’s not right to change the words of a song or a poem that someone else wrote, just to make it gender neutral.
3. This is not a lesson on political correctness (although it’s probably true that the push for gender neutral language is at least partially rooted in something like political correctness). I hope to show that in most cases, gender neutral language is more accurate or less confusing, and thus it is better writing.
This lesson is really for nonfiction writing: everything from devotionals to company reports to blog posts to academic papers for a class you may be taking. Fiction writers—continue to use pronouns just as you’ve been doing. Most of this won’t apply to you.
For the rest of this lesson, I’ll give examples of the “old” way of writing certain phrases, and give gender neutral suggestions. Keep in mind, please, that this is what’s preferred by most publishers, and learning this skill may help your writing to get published. Some publishers, however, do not require (or may even dislike) gender neutral language, so it will be worth your while to do a bit of research. But if you’re trying to get an article accepted by a publisher that requires gender neutral language, then this lesson is for you.
• Instead of using gender specific nouns for occupations, whenever possible, use a word that would apply equally to all people. For example, write police officer instead of policeman. Sometimes there is a word for a female in a certain occupation when the male word could be used just as well; actor, for example, can be both male and female. If the reader needs to know the gender of the person, that can be worked into the sentence:
The police officer pulled her gun from its holster.
Once on stage, the actor turned to address the audience. “Thank you for your gracious applause,” she said.
• Instead of using a masculine pronoun (he, him, his) to apply to all people, re-write so that such a pronoun is not necessary.
Instead of this:
The student should write his answer with a #2 pencil.
Write this:
Students should write their answers with #2 pencils.
Similarly, there are several synonyms for mankind available. Therefore instead of writing this:
All of mankind is waiting for peace on earth.
Write this:
Everyone is waiting for peace on earth.
Or this:
All people everywhere are waiting for peace on earth.
• Do not use the slashed words he/she or him/her, and try to avoid his or her, he or she, and similar phrases. Instead, find a way to re-write those sentences. For example, instead of this:
When your Meals on Wheels recipient opens the door, deliver the meal to him/her with a smile.
When your Meals on Wheels recipient opens the door, deliver the meal to him or her with a smile.
Write this:
When your Meals on Wheels recipient opens the door, deliver the meal with a smile.
When Mr. Jones opens the door, deliver your Meals on Wheels food to him with a smile.
When Mrs. Smith opens the door, deliver your Meals on Wheels food to her with a smile.
Alternatively, if you’re writing something where the issue of pronouns comes up frequently, you could alternate male and female pronouns. Don’t alternate from sentence to sentence, as that might confuse your reader—but perhaps within each new section you could switch pronoun types.
If you’ve been reading these lessons of mine for a while, you may have noticed that I tend to use female pronouns in sentences like You don’t want to confuse your reader; she may not understand that Aunt Doris was a kleptomaniac. I do this for a few reasons: first, because the majority of FaithWriters are women, so using a female pronoun is more accurate, and second, because (I freely admit it) I’m a bit of a rebel. But I’ve always had this lesson in the back of my mind, and have always thought that it was a good thing for readers of these lessons to see alternatives to male-only pronouns when referring to hypothetical or abstract people.
Of course—I actually probably don’t even need to say this—if the gender of the person being written about is known, or if it’s necessary to use one gender rather than the other, by all means, use the gender specific pronoun.
• English doesn’t really have a gender neutral pronoun that works in sentences like this:
If anybody wants to know where the surprise party is, tell ____________ to text me.
Some people would use them in the blank, but them doesn’t really work with anybody, which is a singular pronoun. Some people would use him in the blank, but him doesn’t work if the person who needs to know about the surprise party is female. And as I wrote in the last bullet point, him or her is awkward. In this sentence, using him or her actually makes it sound as if the person’s gender is unknown.
The solution is to rewrite. There are several ways you could do that:
If you want to know where the surprise party is, text me.
People who want to know where the surprise party is should text me.
***
There are many, many more ways that nonfiction language can be made gender neutral, but I think you probably have the idea. The key idea is this: When it is possible and appropriate to do so, use gender neutral language in nonfiction.
I suspect that this will annoy some of you. You may think that it’s too ‘PC,’ or unnecessary, or feminist, or ridiculous. But the fact is, this is what is required if you wish to conform to contemporary standards of writing, and it is also, in many cases, a more accurate way to write.
HOMEWORK:
Rewrite these sentences or phrases to be gender neutral (there are several correct answers for each item).
1. …to boldly go where no man has gone before
2. A two-year-old usually clings to his mother in unfamiliar places.
3. The stewardess wrote a complaint letter to the chairman of the union.
4. The student should raise his hand if he needs to leave the room during the test.
5. The good news of the gospel is for all mankind.
6. Anyone who is unhappy with his study partner should notify the professor about him or her.
Questions or comments about gender neutral language? I’d love to try to answer them for you.
I’ve noted your ideas for new lessons, and many of those ideas will show up here in the coming weeks. I always welcome more ideas, and I’ll also mention that grammar questions should go to Ann’s forum, which you can find here.