Com140 Manual Writing Inclusively

Writing Inclusively

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Writing inclusively

17f Avoid sexist language. Sexist language is language that stereotypes or demeans men or women, usually women. 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,” or saying in an advertisement, “If our new sports car were a lady, it would get its bottom pinched.” Other forms of sexist language are less blatant. The following practices, while they may not result from conscious sexism, reflect stereotypical thinking: referring to nurses as women and doctors as men, using different conventions when naming or identifying women and men, or assuming that all of one’s readers are men. STEREOTYPICAL LANGUAGE

After the nursing student graduates, she must face a difficult state board examination. [Not all nursing students are women.] Running for city council are Jake Stein, 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.] Wives of senior government officials are required to report any gifts they receive that are valued at more than $100. [Not all senior government officials are men.]

Still other forms of sexist language result from outmoded traditions. The pronouns he, him, and his, for instance, were traditionally used to refer generically to persons of either sex. GENERIC HE OR HIS

When a physician is harassed by managed care professionals, he may be tempted to leave the profession. A journalist is stimulated by his deadline.

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Today, however, such usage is widely viewed as sexist because it excludes women and encourages sex-role stereotyping — the view that men are somehow more suited than women to be doctors, journalists, and so on. Like the pronouns he, him, and his, the nouns man and men were once used indefinitely to refer to persons of either sex. Current usage demands gender-neutral terms for references to both men and women. INAPPROPRIATE

chairman clergyman congressman fireman foreman mailman (to) man mankind manpower policeman salesman weatherman workman

APPROPRIATE

chairperson, moderator, chair, head member of the clergy, minister, pastor member of Congress, representative, legislator firefighter supervisor mail carrier, postal worker, letter carrier to operate, to staff people, humans personnel police officer salesperson, sales associate, salesclerk, sales representative weather forecaster, meteorologist worker, laborer

GRAMMAR CHECKERS are good at flagging obviously

sexist terms, such as mankind and fireman, but they do not flag language that might be demeaning to women (woman doctor) or stereotypical (referring to assistants as women and lawyers as men, for instance). They also have no way of identifying the generic use of he or his (An obstetrician needs to be available to his patients at all hours). All in all, you must use your common sense to tell when a word or a construction is offensive.

Revising sexist language When revising sexist language, be sparing in your use of the wordy constructions he or she and his or her. Although these constructions are fine in small doses, they become awkward when repeated throughout an essay. A better revision strategy, many writers have discovered, is to write in the plural; yet another strategy is to recast the sentence so that the problem does not arise.

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SEXIST

When a physician is harassed by managed care professionals, he may be tempted to leave the profession. A journalist is stimulated by his deadline. A good designer chooses her projects carefully. ACCEPTABLE BUT WORDY

When a physician is harassed by managed care professionals, he or she may be tempted to leave the profession. A journalist is stimulated by his or her deadline. A good designer chooses his or her projects carefully. BETTER: USING THE PLURAL

When physicians are harassed by managed care professionals, they may be tempted to leave the profession. Journalists are stimulated by their deadlines. Good designers choose their projects carefully. BETTER: RECASTING THE SENTENCE

When harassed by managed care professionals, a physician may be tempted to leave the profession. A journalist is stimulated by a deadline. A good designer chooses projects carefully.

EXERCISE 17–3: Edit the following sentences to eliminate sexist language or sexist assumptions. Revisions of lettered sentences appear in the back of the book. Example: 

Scholarship athletes

A scholarship athlete must be as concerned about

^their

they are

their

his academic performance as he is about his

^

athletic performance.

^

^

a. Mrs. Geralyn Farmer, who is the mayor’s wife, is the chief surgeon at University Hospital. Dr. Paul Green is her assistant. b. Every applicant wants to know how much he will make.

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c. An elementary school teacher should understand the concept of nurturing if she intends to be a success. d. Every student of high-tech architecture picks his favorite when he studies such inspirational architects as Renzo Piano and Zaha Hadid. e. If man does not stop polluting his environment, mankind will perish. 1. A fireman must always be on call even when he is off duty. 2. The chairman for the new program in digital art is Ariana Tamlin, an accomplished portrait painter, computer programmer, and cookie baker. 3. In the gubernatorial race, Lena Weiss, a defense lawyer and mother of two, easily defeated Harvey Tower, an architect. 4. Recent military history has shown that lady combat helicopter pilots are as skilled, reliable, and resourceful as men. 5. An emergency room head nurse must know how to use sophisticated digital equipment if she is to keep track of all her patients’ data and guide her medical team.

Writing Inclusively Effective writing does not exclude or demean any person or group on the basis of race, age, disability, or cultural differences. Every sentence must be put to the following test: Is the mention of race, age, disability, or cultural difference essential to what you want to express? — If the answer is no, eliminate the mention of race, age, disability, or cultural difference. — If the answer is yes, make sure the reference is not demeaning. Put this sentence to the test: Jackie Robinson, the modern era’s first African American Major League Baseball player, was a pioneer in many ways besides sports.

The mention of Robinson’s being an African American is essential to the meaning and the impact of the sen-

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tence without being demeaning. In this case, the mention of race is important. Now put this sentence to the test: President Nixon selected Henry Kissinger, a Jew, to be Secretary of State during some of the most turbulent years in the nation’s history.

Kissinger’s cultural and religious heritage as a Jew is not essential to the sentence’s meaning, so the reference should be deleted.

Avoiding Racist Language A stereotype is a generalization that describes or distinguishes a group; stereotypes are usually oversimplified and often demeaning. Everyone in our society has heard racist stereotypes. Writing that includes these stereotypes lacks credibility and calls into question the writer’s judgment and sense of objectivity and fairness. A writer deals with racist stereotypes by identifying them and then eliminating them. Consider the following stereotypes: The white singing star Madonna consistently fills concert halls around the world. Bill Cosby, the African American comedian, had one of the country’s most popular TV shows for several years.

Madonna’s and Bill Cosby’s racial identities are not essential to the sentences, so these racial references should be eliminated. Be especially careful about mentioning race or ethnic group when discussing someone as an exception: James is a tall, flamboyant Asian American. The energetic, scholarly Latino was at the top of her class.

Including an unnecessary mention of race or ethnic group in such cases can turn what may be intended as a compliment into a demeaning insult. Whenever you consider mentioning a person’s or group’s race or ethnicity, be certain it is necessary to your meaning. In the two sentences above, it is not.

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Avoiding Agist References Just as people of the same race should be treated as individuals, so should people of the same age group. The only characteristic that older people have in common is their age. All young people do not look or act alike. So watch for agist stereotypes such as the following: Look at that decrepit, senile, old man. Angie is certainly an irresponsible, rebellious teenager.

Every person — young, middle-aged, and old — has his or her particular faults and strengths. Just as you wouldn’t want to be described as belonging to an age group in which everyone talks and thinks the same way, so you should be careful not to describe others stereotypically.

Describing the Disabled or Those with Cultural Differences When referring to people with mental or physical challenges, remember you are describing a person, not just a disability. Would you want to be categorized by the way you walk? Neither would anyone else. Mentioning a person’s disability is appropriate only when that disability is what you are writing about. For example, consider the relevance of mentioning a disability or cultural difference in the following sentence:

REFERRING TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

Our physics professor, who gets around in a wheelchair, is a tough grader.

Mentioning the wheelchair is irrelevant to the writer’s point—that the professor is a tough grader. So eliminate the reference to the wheelchair. Brian, who is deaf, is able to work at the store’s cash register because he can read lips.

The deafness is relevant in this case because the writer is expressing how Brian is dealing with his disability and because the reference to the deafness is not demeaning. BEING SENSITIVE TO CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. Because we are now working in a global environment, writers must be sen-

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sitive to the various behaviors and values inherent in other cultures. Consider the following statement: Being British, Emily is not a very warm person.

This stereotype implies that all British people, including Emily, are not very warm. In reality, some British people are not very warm and others are. In addition, British people may express their warmth in different ways than Americans do; it may be a cultural difference. The writer is better off describing Emily’s behavior and omitting the cultural reference. For example: Emily does not greet me with enthusiasm.

Be careful, too, that you are not using your own culture as a standard for defining the way people should act. When referring to various ethnic groups, choose words and phrases the group prefers. For instance, during the last century, the word Negro was acceptable to refer to African Americans, although that term is not preferred today.

17g Revise language that may offend groups of people. Obviously it is impolite to use offensive terms such as Polack and redneck. But biased language can take more subtle forms. Because language evolves over time, names once thought acceptable may become offensive. When describing groups of people, choose names that the groups currently use to describe themselves. 

Lakota North Dakota takes its name from the Indian word

^ meaning “friend” or “ally.” 

Asian Many Oriental immigrants have recently settled in

^ our small town in Tennessee.

Negative stereotypes (such as “drives like a teenager” or “haggard as an old crone”) are of course offensive. But you should avoid stereotyping a person or a group even if you believe your generalization to be positive.

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an excellent math and science student, It was no surprise that Greer, a Chinese American,

^ was selected for the honors chemistry program.

GRAMMAR CHECKERS flag some nonstandard idioms,

such as comply to, but few clichés. They do not identify commonly confused words, such as principal and principle or misused word forms, such as significance and significant. You must be alert for such words and use your dictionary if you are unsure of the correct form. Grammar checkers are of little help with the other problems discussed in 18: choosing words with appropriate connotations, using concrete language, and using figures of speech appropriately.

Wrap-Up Use the following test to ensure you are writing inclusively: Try eliminating from any sentence the mention of race, ethnic group, age, disability, or cultural difference. Does your sentence still express your meaning? If so, then leave out the references regarding race, ethnic group, age, disability, or cultural difference. As a writer, you want to treat the people about whom you write with the same fairness everyone deserves.

Copyright © 2007 Bedford/St. Martin’s for Axia College