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Language and Gender Discrimination

1) The document discusses how language can promote gender discrimination and sexism through the common use of words like "mankind" and "brotherhood of man" that seem to make women invisible or of lesser worth. 2) As a child, the author was initially confused by words like "mankind" but later realized they favored men and implied male supremacy. This made the author wonder about themselves and other women. 3) The frequent use of male-centered language manipulated women into doubting their individuality and capability to be addressed separately from men, strengthening systems of patriarchy and discrimination. Gender equality in language should allow women to have their own representation and positions without stereotyping.

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Donna de Roma
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164 views2 pages

Language and Gender Discrimination

1) The document discusses how language can promote gender discrimination and sexism through the common use of words like "mankind" and "brotherhood of man" that seem to make women invisible or of lesser worth. 2) As a child, the author was initially confused by words like "mankind" but later realized they favored men and implied male supremacy. This made the author wonder about themselves and other women. 3) The frequent use of male-centered language manipulated women into doubting their individuality and capability to be addressed separately from men, strengthening systems of patriarchy and discrimination. Gender equality in language should allow women to have their own representation and positions without stereotyping.

Uploaded by

Donna de Roma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Sioson, Rayanne Faith D.

ABELS 2-1

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Women behind 'mankind'

Language, ever since have been an important part of people's life. It is a medium of communication,
hence, it is used in political motives, economic operation, relationship establishment and academic
purposes. But what if the language used exercises a form of gender discrimination, sexism in language?
The influence of language to a person is vast, it gives them identity. If the language marginalizes a
certain group of sex then it shall, without a doubt, cause degradation or inferiority to their sexual
identity, in this case, women.
Sexism in language can also be observed in school textbooks and activities. I was in elementary when I
first encountered the word 'mankind'. I read it from a story in an english textbook. Eventually, I
discovered that the word refers to every individual of every sex, female and male. But as a child who still
had to learn more words, I got confused as I had learned that woman is female and man is male.
'Mankind' pertains to all individual of any sex and certainly, the word 'man' from 'mankind' is definitely
not woman. However, that confusion began to subside gradually everytime I move up another grade.
Those words seemed to not matter and so I decided to do the same until I once again stumbled upon a
word from John Lenon's Imagine, 'brotherhood of man'. It became clear to me then that this words,
even the earlier ones that I had learned, favors the populace of men, that man can represent woman
but never can a woman represent a man. I started to see the implicit notions of male supremacy in the
language, at school, in politics, in the community even at home.
The words 'mankind' and 'brotherhood of man' made it seem that women are invisible and or of
unequal worth. It made me wonder about the women and myself because it so happens that I am
female. I thought about the uncountable times I wrote 'mankind' in essays, quizzes, etc. and how I
ignorantly erased myself from my own works. My name is written on every paper but the teachers
would only know I'm female by the time they look at me or my profile in their index cards. My identity
does not matter and the language had made me lose my sense of identity(even individuality). Sexism in
the language manipulated women to doubt that they are capable of having a sense of individuality and
can be addressed separately from men.
The frequent use of 'his' to represent both female and male is not a trivial matter, it is a frequent
elimination of the presence of women. Behind every recurrent male-patronizing words are hundreds,
thousands or even millions of forgotten, devalued women. Persistent use of sexism in language
constantly strengthens the system of patriarchy and it will continue to discriminate against women. The
practice of gender equality should not be visible only through physical deeds, the equity in gender
treatment should start in the linguistic aspect. Women should be able to hold a position of their own
and not be forced in contentment of being represented by men. Women should be allowed to exercise
their authority and recognition without being stereotyped.

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