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Gender neutral language: Difference between revisions

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== Gender neutral language in English ==
== Gender neutral language in English ==


Traditional third-person singular [[pronoun]]s for known people ("he/him/his/his/himself" and "she/her/her/hers/herself") are gendered [[male]] or [[female]].  There are many possible gender neutral alternatives to these, e.g. avoiding the pronouns altogether, using "they/them/their/theirs/themself" (which is often seen as being a plural or ambiguous pronoun), using "it/it/its/its/itself" (which is often seen as being only for nonhuman objects), or using [[neopronoun]]s (some sets of which are created specifically to be gender neutral).  Some people prefer being referred to without gendered pronouns, and they may have a preference for which set of pronouns they prefer, or they may prefer being referred to by no pronouns at all.  These preferences are often linked to nonbinary gender identity.
Traditional third-person singular [[pronoun]]s for known people ("he/him/his/his/himself" and "she/her/her/hers/herself") are gendered [[male]] or [[female]].  There are many possible gender neutral alternatives to these, e.g. avoiding the pronouns altogether, using "they/them/their/theirs/themself" (which is often seen as being a plural or ambiguous pronoun), using "it/it/its/its/itself" (which is often seen as being only for nonhuman objects), or using [[List of neopronouns|neopronouns]] (some sets of which are created specifically to be gender neutral).  Some people prefer being referred to without gendered pronouns, and they may have a preference for which set of pronouns they prefer, or they may prefer being referred to by no pronouns at all.  These preferences are often linked to nonbinary gender identity.


Many jobs have gendered titles, or the possibility of gendered titles.  Gender neutral language here can consist of finding an alternative term for the job or making one of the existing terms neutral by applying it to people of all genders.  An example of the former is how "firefighter" replaces "fireman/firewoman", and an example of the latter is how "actor" is sometimes used for women and people of other genders as well as men.  Some gendered terms, like "author/authress", have multiple alternatives: "author" is now used for people of all genders, and the term "writer" means essentially the same thing but has never been gendered.
Many jobs have gendered titles, or the possibility of gendered titles.  Gender neutral language here can consist of finding an alternative term for the job or making one of the existing terms neutral by applying it to people of all genders.  An example of the former is how "firefighter" replaces "fireman/firewoman", and an example of the latter is how "actor" is sometimes used for women and people of other genders as well as men.  Some gendered terms, like "author/authress", have multiple alternatives: "author" is now used for people of all genders, and the term "writer" means essentially the same thing but has never been gendered.
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