A Gender-Neutral Language, Research Paper Example

For a long time in Canadian history, individuals have conformed to formal English specifics while referring to individuals. This is because there been only two genders where individuals were either male or females. This is quite different in the contemporary society where there exist transgender individuals, making it difficult for them to identify themselves as either males or females. They have been hiding for a long time since society would not accept them as they are, especially since the English language excluded them in references. Throughout the world, gender norms have been very restrictive by creating conformity towards the binary gendered pronouns, making it difficult for society to accommodate those individuals who do not identify with them. The presence of these gendered pronouns has promoted inequality and disparities within individuals similar to discrimination against women. This is because they are intersectional. Within the English language, conventions must be put aside to allow individuals to acquire a sense of worth and belonging without feeling left out. This is a crucial aspect of societal development. With this, non-binary individuals will achieve the freedom to undertake activities in all aspects of their lives, such as income-earning, without prejudice that occurs relatively often. Therefore, a gender-inclusive language contributes to social cohesion that eradicates injustices against non-binary and gender-fluid individuals.

First, non-gendered language promotes social change that aims at eradicating gender biases, stereotyping, and prejudice. Canada is among the countries that register many non-binary individuals considering that times have changed, enabling people to come out of their closets. A few years back, individuals would only identify as men or women, but since technological development occurred, the world has become more accepting of queer and other individuals. In short, people are now more open to changes in a society that seeks to bring peace and avoid the chaos that happens every day. Language is a significant aspect that can either make or break the community. For instance, Lilian (2020, 2) argues that English and German languages are quite different in how they convey gender. This is because the latter incorporates grammatical gender where males and females are referred to in a specific manner, while the former uses social references. Due to this, issues of gender equality have arisen, which refer to creating equal opportunities for women to match that of men. From this case, it is evident that the transgender and queer community is excluded from this classification since the pronouns adopted are very precise. Non-gender-conforming individuals, especially people of color, are inappropriately discriminated against due to the rigidity of the language used by western society. Popi? & Gorjanc (2018, 329) argue that Slovene, unlike English is quite limited to gender pluralism, an aspect crucial for the development of a neutral language. Therefore, adopting changes in the language of use results in gender equality, for the binary or non-conforming individuals, since they will all have equal opportunities and equitable resources for survival.

Moreover, it demonstrates the commitment to inclusion in society. Formulation and the implementation of changes within the English language concerning gender show that policymakers are willing to accept the existent group of individuals to be part and parcel of the community. In short, society is slowly accommodating individuals’ new culture by respecting and creating a sense of belonging within them. Through multi-gendering and de-gendering strategies, non-binary individuals can be accommodated to the society considering that they will challenge the gender/sex binary views (Morgenroth et al., 2020, 2). Many individuals are slowly coming out of their hideouts, yet they have no gender identity to confine themselves to because they are non-sexist, non-binary, or non-conformists. The presence of diversity balances the community since the binary individuals may have particular views about their counterparts. With them in society, they can prove their claims wrong and establish a conducive environment for individuals to thrive in life. Unfortunately, individuals misjudge these groups because they have not accepted their existence. This way, they wrongly accuse them of negative actions creating disunity and disparities that are catastrophic for society. When people commit to making a change, it benefits the community, especially in such a case because men and women can now learn to appreciate non-binary individuals who have a different perspective of life, unlike those who are rigid, most of the time. The commitment to inclusivity allows the newly accommodated society members to access vast opportunities and develop self-worth that will prevent them from all forms of discrimination. By recognizing gender diversity, the English language can attain the highest level of inclusivity of gender-fluid and non-binary individuals.

Furthermore, a gender-inclusive language is crucial for attracting and retaining employees and customers in the business world. The Canadian environment is business-friendly, the very reason why individuals from all over travel to work and study. It is difficult for companies to retain their employees with a gendered language since they tend to feel undervalued. In many cases, individuals are asked to define their gender/sex in a document that presented consistent job descriptions for both men and women (Popi? & Gorjanc, 2018, 334). This is common in many countries which has raised concerns on the sexual equality in the Slovene language which is non-inclusive in its pronouns. Several companies that have eliminated rigidity in their qualifications for position or contract opportunities are more likely to attract many customers, which is beneficial for the business, unlike their counterparts. People often want to do business or associate with others whom they feel comfortable around them. Some non-binary individuals want to be loved and valued in many organizations and families because they did not choose to be that way. The language used in these organizations reveals a lot about how they view gender diversity. Since these companies adore loyalty, employees and customers can only offer that they are inclusive in their policies. Thus, a gender-inclusive language is a critical aspect in the business world that assures customer and employee loyalty.

Adopting a change of conventions in the spoken language reflects people’s awareness of the world’s expanded understanding of gender/sex. The new technology and scientific developments have brought forth several and expounded knowledge of different aspects of human life. For a long time, the definition of gender has been rigid, describing people as either females or males, which is quite unfortunate considering that other individuals do not identify as such. In this case, sex is believed to directly determine gender, referring to either a women or a man (Morgenroth et al., 2020. 1).The use of a gendered language limits individuals’ understandings of the changes occurring throughout the world. In many educational institutions, teachers tend to shun away from talking about gender fluidity or discuss such that it demonstrates the topic as a taboo and must be avoided (Surette, 2019, 34). Through this, learners acquire this understanding which seems to assume a negative attitude towards such individuals (Surette, 2019, 35). Because of these revelations, individuals have begun understanding that sex is not rigid since many people of late have bodies that fall out of the binary classification. The use of gendered language is biased to them. Several countries have adopted the change of conventions such that there is a third group of individuals who do not fall in the category of males and females.

Although gender-neutral pronouns are crucial in contemporary society, they distract communication while threatening people’s social identities. In any communication, the participants aim to understand each other without the presence of interferences. For instance, the use of “they” to refer to individuals is grammatically wrong because it creates confusion when the reference is singular (Popi? & Gorjanc, 2018, 330). In many cases, people are never conscious of grammatical errors in their speech since they are often informal. However, the introduction of changes into the English language has confused the particular pronoun usage since it was commonly used for plurals, but it has shifted to singular (Morgenroth et al., 2020, 2). Individuals have become quite conscious of the pronouns they use during communication to avoid looking like they are biased or stereotyping gender diversity. The non-binary individuals fight for inclusion while the rest of the population suffer the loss of their identities, considering that the former has become the center of attention. Individuals’ loss of identity is much catastrophic than the use of gendered language since the population would be confused.

In conclusion, a gender-inclusive language is crucial for a society free from biases, stereotyping, and all forms of violence against individuals. Because language plays a significant role in shaping the societal attitudes towards a particular phenomenon, it must recognize all the players. By reflecting on the people’s awareness, creating a comfortable space for diverse individuals will be possible. Just as language has been used to fight for women’s rights and equality, its neutrality is crucial for an accommodative culture where all people are respected and feel a sense of belonging. While a gender-neutral language can lead to loss of social identity, its benefits outweigh its downsides.

References

Lillian, D. L. (2020). Rewriting Language: How Literary Texts Can Promote Inclusive Language Use by Christiane Luck (2020). Gender and Language, 14(3), 1-3.

Morgenroth, T., Sendén, M. G., Lindqvist, A., Renström, E. A., Ryan, M. K., & Morton, T. A. (2020). Defending the sex/gender binary: The role of gender identification and need for closure. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1948550620937188.

Popi?, D., & Gorjanc, V. (2018). Challenges of adopting gender–inclusive language in Slovene. Suvremena lingvistika, 44(86), 329-350.

Surette, T. (2019). Too scared to teach: Secondary students’ insights into educators silencing and stigmatizing gender and sexual diversity in public schools in Alberta, Canada. Contemporary Issues in Education, 14(2), 33-49.