Story 89-
Tammy talks about avoiding sexist language in the classroom and relates a story about her dad to her students. Through her repetitive corrections of 'man' to 'man or woman', her dad finally changes what his phrase to 'one', rather than the sexist 'man', when he is talking to his grandchild.
A lot of students seem to think saying 'policeman' rather than 'police officer' isn't a big deal. They seem to think that no one is hurt by the sexist terminology, and perhaps some aren't, but some are hurt. If we, and our students, make an effort to change our misogynist terminology, eventually the future generations will naturally learn to speak in a non-sexist manner; so maybe, just maybe, some little girl that wants to be a 'police officer' when she grows up won't feel alienated from the profession due to how people refer to it. Also, older adults, such as the grandpa in the story, can change if they are made aware of the sexism that is present.
I would agree with you. I have found myself, even with the level of education I have and the understanding about institutional oppression I have, using sexist language when I talk. I don't mean it; it just happens, which makes me think that sometimes the habit is there but not necessarily the belief that women and men are unequal.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I agree that we as teachers should reinforce and teach students that using sexist language acts to only reinforce the institutional oppression, whether we mean to or not.
I think we need to be more open to "they" as a gender neutral pronoun as well, to be inclusive of all genders not just binary gender. Sure, it's traditionally grammatically incorrect, but grammar changes, and I can't think of a better reason for it to change!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jennifer. I've heard some people talking about using 'ze' and 'zir' as gender neutral pronouns, do think this idea will gain traction in the composition classroom?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete