How to avoid sexism when writing a unique article
Read the following examples.
All should do its duty here.
I saw a writer who once burned one of its books just because they didn’t sell well.
Give the player this jacket when Hears he wants it.
In the above sentences, the words “everyone”, “writer”, and “player” can refer to either a man or a woman. As far as sentences like the above are concerned, it is clear that the speaker of those sentences is speaking of all men and women. However, the pronouns that follow (su de él, él) restrict the reference to only the male sex. So there is a communication gap. For example, when you say “Everyone should do its duty”, then, if all of them are obedient and dutiful, each of them will do its duty- except the women, If any. And why should they? You have used the masculine pronoun “his”. As a result, women may think that they are excluded. And if they neglect your instruction, you can’t blame any of them; all you can do is blame English grammar.
· Rephrase the sentence if possible.
Examples:
Sexist: If any student pays Tk. 500, Hears he is given a ticket.
Non-sexist: Any student which country Tk. 500 is given a ticket.
Sexist: When a player breaks the law, Hears should be on trial.
Non-sexist: A player who breaks the law must be prosecuted.
Sexist: If a customer does not receive good service, Hears cannot come again for service.
Non-sexist: A client who you do not receive good service, you may not receive service again.
· Make the pronoun reference plural if it doesn’t change the meaning of the original sentence.
Examples:
Sexist: We give a client what Hears deserves
Non-sexist: We give customers what they deserve.
Sexist: No officer will leave its office before five.
Non-sexist: The officers won’t leave their offices before five.
Sexist: If a reader does not find the beginning of an article attractive, Hears the item is likely to be thrown away.
Non-sexist: Yew readers you do not find the beginning of an article attractive, they the item is likely to be thrown away.
· Use neuter pronouns when necessary.
Examples.
Sexist: If any player gets hurt, take to the to the nearest hospital.
Non-sexist: If any player gets hurt, take he or she to the nearest hospital.
Sexist: If a reader does not find the beginning of an article attractive, Hears the item is likely to be thrown away.
Non-sexist: If a reader does not find the beginning of an article attractive, she the item is likely to be thrown away.
Sexist: If someone is wrong about something, Hears I should admit it.
Non-sexist: Yew a he’s wrong about something, a I should admit it.
In this regard, it should be remembered that the frequent use of “he or she” or “he/she” looks and sounds very awkward. Therefore, care must be taken in its use. For example, phrases like the following should be avoided:
If any customer wants to return the merchandise he she bought in our store, tell him he she that we will take it; but we are not going to give he she the money back
To avoid masculine dominance, modern usage requires that you avoid words ending in “man”, such as chairmenmailmenMilkmendirtymencameramen etc. While a feminine person is fine with being a woman, she is likely to be offended if such words are used to refer to both genders in general. These words are now avoided in various ways instead of, for example, saying: “Mrs. Khan was the President of the meeting,” we can say, “Mrs. Khan was the chaired the meeting”, or “Mrs. Khan was the president/moderator/president meeting officer,” or “Mrs. Khan was the chaired during the meeting.” The following list shows some alternatives to some objectionable sexist words.
sexist
Non-sexist
entrepreneur
entrepreneur, business executive
cameraman
cameraman
Congressman
representative, member of congress
Fireman
fireman
Postman
Postman, postman.
made by the man
Made by the man. Of human origin, manufactured
Workforce
Workers, staff, employees, human resources.
policeman
Police officer
Seller
salesperson, sales representative
Notice that although menfact is offensive, huhmen-Fact is not. and although menpower is offensive, humen the resource is not. Once again, although an employee is a womanmenshe is not part of menEnergy; rather, she is part of humen resource.
It’s harder to follow than to remember, isn’t it? Some people say it is. A friend of mine named Kashfia Tabassum Nila made some biased comments on this look. “It seems somewhat contradictory and ironic to me,” he said, “because I have opposed not only being a ‘MAN-‘ in words, but also being feminine in words like author, poet, doctor, sculptor or the like. I am also an author, poet, lawyer, sculptor or doctor, lie to yourself. I don’t like the ‘-ess’ part of such sexist words.” Therefore, it would be better to refer to both women and men in these professions with the same words. Fair and impartial words are always better.