Sexist Language

By the typical definition, sexist language is considered to be any language that is supposed to include all people, but, unintentionally (or not) excludes a gender—this can be either males or females. Sexist language is especially common in situations that describe jobs—common assumptions include that all doctors are men, all nurses are women, all coaches are men, or all teachers are women. Most people would agree that these assumptions are largely untrue today, though the language used often perpetuates the stereotypes.

Sexist language is often found to be offensive and prejudicial, by both men and women. Although the past few decades have seen some progress toward lessening the prevalence of sexist language, it still comes as little surprise to many when encountered.

Women tend to be more outspoken about the use of sexist language, particularly in the workplace. Females in particular occupations, such as "chairperson," "firefighter," or "postal worker" have been able to become very clear about the distinction, and the newer, more gender neutral terms are now widely accepted. Men who are employed as nurses or child care workers may have more difficulty with the perceptions and the sexist language examples that they are regularly subjected to.

At its crudest and most hurtful, sexist language is a tool used to damage someone. Rather than a blind but innocent repetition of sexist behavior and terms many of us grow up with, some people carry that further and try to really emotionally harm a person by targeting them with sexist comments. But whether it is used on purpose or blindly, it is a form of abuse or bullying and I think we can all do well to watch what words escape our lips, just in case we are repeating things we've always repeated... without even knowing that they may be hurting someone.