Sexist language is language that stereotypes or demeans women or men. Using nonsexist language is a matter of courtesy—of respect for and sensitivity to the feelings of others.
Recognizing sexist language
Some sexist language is easy to recognize because it reflects genuine contempt for women: referring to a woman as a “chick,” for example, or calling a lawyer a “lady lawyer.”
Other forms of sexist language are less blatant. The following practices, while they may not result from conscious sexism, reflect stereotypical thinking: referring to members of one profession as exclusively male or exclusively female (teachers as women or computer engineers as men, for instance) or using different conventions when naming or identifying women and men.
stereotypical language
After a nursing student graduates, she must face a difficult state board examination. [Not all nursing students are women.]
Running for city council are Boris Stotsky, an attorney, and Mrs. Cynthia Jones, a professor of English and mother of three. [The title Mrs. and the phrase mother of three are irrelevant.]
All executives’ wives are invited to the welcome dinner. [Not all executives are men.]
Still other forms of sexist language result from outdated traditions. The pronouns he, him, and his, for instance, were traditionally used to refer generically to persons of either sex. Nowadays, to avoid that sexist usage, some writers use she, her, and hers generically or substitute the female pronouns alternately with the male pronouns.
generic pronouns
A journalist is motivated by his deadline.
A good interior designer treats her clients’ ideas respectfully.
But both forms are sexist—for excluding one sex entirely and for making assumptions about the members of particular professions.
Similarly, the nouns man and men were once used to refer generically to persons of either sex. Current usage demands gender-neutral terms for references to both men and women.
| inappropriate | appropriate |
| chairman | chairperson, moderator, chair, head |
| clergyman | member of the clergy, minister, rabbi, imam |
| congressman | member of Congress, representative, legislator |
| fireman | firefighter |
| foreman | supervisor |
| mailman | mail carrier, postal worker, letter carrier |
| to man | to operate, to staff |
| mankind | people, humans |
| manpower | personnel, staff |
| policeman | police officer |
| salesman | salesperson, sales associate, salesclerk |
| weatherman | forecaster, meteorologist |
Revising sexist language
When revising sexist language, you may be tempted to substitute he or she and his or her. These terms are inclusive but wordy; fine in small doses, they can become awkward when repeated throughout an essay. A better revision strategy is to write in the plural; yet another strategy is to recast the sentence so that the problem does not arise.
sexist
A journalist is motivated by his deadline.
A good interior designer treats her clients’ ideas respectfully.
acceptable but wordy
A journalist is motivated by his or her deadline.
A good interior designer treats his or her clients’ ideas respectfully.
better: using the plural
Journalists are motivated by their deadlines.
Good interior designers treat their clients’ ideas respectfully.
better: recasting the sentence
A journalist is motivated by a deadline.
A good interior designer treats clients’ ideas respectfully.
For more examples of these revision strategies, see 22.