Language is a vital part of human connection.
Although all species have their ways of communicating,
humans are the only ones that have mastered cognitive language communication. Language allows us to
share our ideas, thoughts, and feelings with others. It has the power to build societies, but also tear
them down.
In 1955, the controversial and innovative sexologist John Money first used the term “gender” in a way
that we all now take for granted: to describe a human characteristic.
The Social Construction of Gender
Social constructivists propose that there is no inherent truth to gender; it is constructed by social
expectations and gender performance.Social constructionists would say that gender is interactional
rather than individual—it is developed through social interactions. Gender is also said to be
omnirelevant, meaning that people are always judging our behavior to be either male or female.
Understanding Gender
Understandings of gender continually evolve. In the course of a person’s life, the interests, activities,
clothing and professions that are considered the domain of one gender or another evolve in ways both
small and large.
This has perhaps never been more true than it is now. The data show that today’s young people have
significantly different understandings of gender than previous generations, with consequences for all
children, families, organizations and institutions.
For example:
A 2015 Fusion Millennial poll of adults ages 18-34 in the USA found that the majority see gender as a
spectrum, rather than a man/woman binary.
A 2017 Harris Poll of millennials found that 12% identify as transgender or gender non-conforming.
Research by J. Walter Thompson Intelligence (the research arm of the global marketing communications
company) found that 56% of those aged 13-20 know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns (such
as they/them).
Leading businesses are beginning to change traditional gender-based marketing of products, such as
removing “pink and blue” clothing and toy aisles.
All of us are inundated with gender messages from the time we are born, yet we offer children few
opportunities to more deeply consider or understand this fundamentally important aspect of life. Basic
gender literacy is essential for children to understand their own gender, engage in healthy relationships,
identify and place media and social messages in context, and have agency in determining aspects of
their gender now and in the future. Societal ideas about gender will affect every critical aspect of their
lives, from education to career, finances, relationships and more.
Dimensions of Gender
People tend to use the terms “sex” and “gender” interchangeably. But, while connected, the two terms
are not equivalent. Generally, we assign a newborn’s sex as either male or female (some US states and
other countries offer a third option) based on the baby’s genitals. Once a sex is assigned, we presume
the child’s gender. For some people, this is cause for little, if any, concern or further thought because
their gender aligns with gender-related ideas and assumptions associated with their sex. Nevertheless,
while gender may begin with the assignment of our sex, it doesn’t end there. A person’s gender is the
complex interrelationship between three dimensions: body, identity, and social gender.
Body: our body, our experience of our own body, how society genders bodies, and how others interact
with us based on our body.
Identity: the name we use to convey our gender based on our deeply held, internal sense of self.
Identities typically fall into binary (e.g. man, woman) nonbinary (e.g., genderqueer, genderfluid, etc) or
ungendered (e.g., agender, genderless) categories. The meaning associated with a particular identity can
vary among individuals using the same term. A person’s gender identity can correspond to or differ from
the sex they were assigned at birth.
Social gender: how we present our gender in the world and how individuals, society, culture, and
community perceive, interact with, and try to shape our gender. Social gender includes gender roles and
expectations and how society uses those to try to enforce conformity to current gender norms.
Each of these dimensions can vary greatly across a range of possibilities and is distinct from, but
interrelated with, the others. A person’s comfort in their gender is related to the degree to which these
three dimensions feel in harmony. Let’s explore each of these dimensions in a little more detail.
Most societies view sex as a binary concept, with two rigidly fixed options: male or female, based on a
person’s reproductive anatomy and functions. But a binary view of sex fails to capture its complexity.
"Even the biological categories of male and female are blurred; we know today that not just the X and Y
chromosomes but at least 12 others across the human genome govern sex differentiation, and at least
30 genes are involved in sex development."
--Simona Giordano, Director of Medical Ethics, Manchester University Medical School
Not only are female and male bodies more complex than most realize, there are also bodies that fit
neither category. While we are often taught that bodies have one of two forms of genitalia, which are
classified as “female” or “male,” there are Intersex traits that demonstrate that sex exists across a
continuum of possibilities. This level of naturally occurring biological variation by itself should be enough
to dispel the simplistic notion that there are just two sexes. The relationship between a person’s gender
and their body goes beyond one’s reproductive functions. Research in neurology, endocrinology, and
cellular biology points to a broader biological basis for an individual’s experience of gender. In fact,
research increasingly points to our brains as playing a key role in how we each experience our gender.
Bodies themselves are also gendered in the context of cultural expectations. Masculinity and femininity
are equated with certain physical attributes, labeling us as more or less a man/woman based on the
degree to which those attributes are present. This gendering of our bodies affects how we feel about
ourselves and how others perceive and interact with us.
Identity
Gender identity is our internal experience and naming of our gender. It can correspond to or differ from
the sex we were assigned at birth.
Understanding of our gender comes to most of us fairly early in life. According to the American Academy
of Pediatrics, “By age four, most children have a stable sense of their gender identity.” This core aspect
of one’s identity comes from within each of us. Gender identity is an inherent aspect of a person’s make-
up. Individuals do not choose their gender, nor can they be made to change it. However, the words
someone uses to communicate their gender identity may change over time; naming one’s gender can be
a complex and evolving matter. Because we are provided with limited language for gender, it may take a
person quite some time to discover, or create, the language that best communicates their internal
experience. Likewise, as language evolves, a person’s name for their gender may also evolve. This does
not mean their gender has changed, but rather that the words for it are shifting. Read More
Social Gender
Social gender is the third dimension. This includes gender expression, which is the way we communicate
our gender to others through such things as clothing, hairstyles, and mannerisms. It also includes how
individuals, communities and society perceive, interact with, and try to shape our gender. Social gender
includes gender roles and expectations and how society uses those to try to enforce conformity to
current gender norms.
Practically everything is assigned a gender—toys, colors and clothes are some of the more obvious
examples. We begin to teach children about gender from the moment they are born; given the
prevalence of the gender binary, children face great pressure to express their gender within narrow,
stereotypical definitions of “boy” or “girl.” Expectations regarding gender are communicated through
every aspect of our lives, including family, culture, peers, schools, community, media, and religion.
Gender roles and expectations are so entrenched in our culture that it’s difficult to imagine things any
other way.
Congruence
Gender congruence is the feeling of harmony in our gender: experiencing comfort in our body as it
relates to our gender ,naming of our gender that adequately corresponds with our internal sense of who
we are, expressing ourselves through clothing, mannerisms, interests and activities, being seen
consistently by others as we see ourselves
Finding congruence is an ongoing process throughout each of our lives as we continue to grow and gain
insight into ourselves. It is most often found through exploration. For some, finding congruence is fairly
simple; for others, it is a much more complex process. But the fundamental need to find gender
congruence is true for us all, and any degree to which we don’t experience it can be distressing.
Personal Gender
While the dimensions of gender and the desire for congruence are common to us all, ultimately gender
is personal. Each dimension of gender is informed by our unique intersection of identities, experiences,
and personal characteristics. We are more than our body, gender identity and gender expression: we are
also our race, ethnicity, class, faith, sense of geographic place, family history, and more. Our gender is
personal because, while we share some of these aspects of self with others, the way that all of these
identities, influences and characteristics come together is unique to each of us.
Gender Is Different Than Sexual Orientation
One final distinction to make is the difference between gender and Sexual orientation, which are often
incorrectly conflated. In actuality, gender and sexual orientation are two distinct, but related, aspects of
self. Gender is personal (how we see ourselves), while sexual orientation is interpersonal (who we are
physically, emotionally and/or romantically attracted to).
Why is it so critical to distinguish between these two concepts?
When we confuse gender with sexual orientation, we are likely to make assumptions about a young
person that have nothing to do with who they are. For example, when someone’s gender expression is
inconsistent with others’ expectations, assumptions are frequently made about that person’s sexual
orientation. The boy who loves to play princess is assumed to be gay, and the girl who buys clothes in
the “boys’” section and favors a short haircut may be assumed to be a lesbian. These could be faulty
conclusions. What someone wears and how they act is about gender expression. You cannot tell what a
person’s sexual orientation is by what they wear (for that matter, you can’t know what their gender
identity is either, unless they tell you).
Our society’s conflation of gender and sexual orientation can also interfere with a young person’s ability
to understand and articulate aspects of their own gender. For example, it’s not uncommon for a
transgender or non-binary youth to wonder if they are gay or lesbian (or any sexual orientation other
than heterosexual) before coming to a fuller realization of their gender identity. How we come to
understand our gender and our sexual orientation – and the choices we make to disclose and express
these parts of ourselves – are distinct paths. Thinking of these two aspects of self as interchangeable
may, instead of helping us know ourselves and one another better, actually get in the way of
understanding and communication.
What’s Next?
There is a generational divide in how we think about gender. In order to bridge this gap, those of us who
were raised with a more limited view of gender can take this as an opportunity to explore gender with
new eyes, to read and ask questions to better understand gender’s complexity. As with any learning
experience, you’ll learn more about the world around you and about yourself in the process.
Gender diversity has existed throughout history and all over the world. As one of the most fundamental
aspects of a person’s identity, gender deeply influences every part of one’s life. Where this crucial
aspect of self is narrowly defined and rigidly enforced, individuals who exist outside of its norms face
innumerable challenges. Even those who vary only slightly from norms can become targets of
disapproval, discrimination, and even violence.
This does not have to be the case. Through a thoughtful consideration of the uniqueness and validity of
every person’s experience of self, we can develop greater acceptance for all. Not only will this create
greater inclusion for individuals who challenge the norms of gender, it will create space for all
individuals to more fully explore and express who they are.
Lingo is a way of speaking that's shared by a particular group of people — it's their own personal slang
or jargon. You might observe International Talk Like a Pirate Day by trying to speak only pirate lingo.
Sometimes people refer to the language or dialect spoken in a place as its lingo: "I'd love to visit Paris,
but I don't speak the lingo." You're more likely to hear lingo in the context of the words and phrases one
group understands, but that outsiders might not, like computer lingo or English major lingo, or
musician's lingo. Lingo shares a Latin root, lingua, or "tongue," with words like language and linguist.
Jhpiego—Johns Hopkins University Affiliate
GENDER CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS
Sex refers to biologically defined and genetically acquired differences between males and females,
according to their physiology and reproductive capabilities or potentialities. It is universal and mostly
unchanging, without surgery.
Gender refers to the economic, social, political, and cultural attributes and opportunities associated with
being women and men. The social definitions of what it means to be a woman or a man vary among
cultures and change over time. Gender is a sociocultural expression of particular characteristics and
roles that are associated with certain groups of people with reference to their sex and sexuality.
Gender Analysis is a methodology that both:
Describes existing gender relations in a particular environment, ranging from within households or firms
to a larger scale of community, ethnic group, or nation. It involves collecting and analyzing sex-
disaggregated data and other qualitative and quantitative information.
Organizes and interprets, in a systematic way, information about gender relations to make clear the
importance of gender differences for achieving development objectives.
Gender Assessment examines how a program or project addresses and responds to gender disparities
and inequalities through its objectives, activities, and policies. It responds to two key questions:
How will the different roles and status of women and men within the community, political sphere,
workplace, and household affect the work to be undertaken?
How will the anticipated results of the work affect women and men differently? And their relative
status?
Gender Equity is the process of being fair to women andmen. To ensure fairness, measures must be
taken to compensate for historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from
operating on a level playing field.
Gender Equality is the state or condition that affords women and men equal enjoyment of human rights,
socially valued goods, opportunities, and resources.
Gender Integration refers to strategies applied in program assessment, design, implementation, and
evaluation to take gender norms into account and to compensate for gender-based inequalities.
Gender Mainstreaming is the process of incorporating a gender perspective into policies, strategies,
programs, project activities, and administrative functions, as well as into the institutional culture of an
organization.
Gender Stereotypes are ideas that people have on masculinity and femininity: what men and women of
all generations should be like and are capable of doing. (e.g., girls should be obedient and cute, are
allowed to cry, and boys are expected to be brave and not cry, women are better housekeepers and
men are better with machines, or boys are better at mathematics and girls more suited to nursing).
Gender-Based Violence is violence derived from gender norms and roles as well as from unequal power
relations between women and men. Violence is specifically targeted against a person because of his or
her gender, and it affects women disproportionately. It includes, but is not limited to, physical, sexual,
and psychological harm (including intimidation, suffering, coercion, and/or deprivation of liberty within
the family or within the general community). It includes violence perpetuated by the state.
Agency is a person’s capacity to set goals and act on them. It may entail bargaining, negotiation, and
resistance (Adapted from Naila Kabeer’s definition of agency).
Empowerment refers to the expansion of people’s capacity to make and act upon decisions (agency) and
to transform those decisions into desired outcomes, affecting all aspects of their lives, including
decisions related to health. It entails overcoming socioeconomic and other power inequalities in a
context where this ability was previously denied. Programmatic interventions often focus specifically on
empowering women because of the inequalities in their socioeconomic status. (Adapted from Naila
Kabeer’s and Ruth Alsop’s definition of empowerment.)
Homophobia is the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuals or homosexual
behavior or cultures. Homophobia also refers to self-loathing by homosexuals, as well as the fear of men
or women who do not live up to society’s standards of what it is to be a “true man” or “true woman.”
Heterosexism is the presumption that everyone is heterosexual and/or the belief that heterosexual
people are naturally superior to homosexual and bisexual people.
Men’s Engagement is a programmatic approach that involves men and boys a) as clients and
beneficiaries, b) as partners and c) as agents of change, in actively promoting gender equality, women’s
empowerment and the transformation of inequitable definitions of masculinity. In the health context,
this comprises engaging men and boys in addressing their own, and supporting their partners’
reproductive, sexual and other health needs. Men’s engagement also includes broader efforts to
promote equality with respect to caregiving, fatherhood, and division of labor, and ending gender-based
violence.
Sexual orientation refers to one’s sexual or romantic attractions, and includes sexual identity, sexual
behaviors and sexual desires.
Transgender is an umbrella term referring to individuals who do not identify with the sex category
assigned to them at birth or whose identity or behavior falls outside of stereotypical gender norms. The
term “transgender” encompasses a diverse array of gender identities and expressions, including
identities that fit within a female/male classification and those that do not. Transgender is not the same
as intersex, which refers to biological variation in sex characteristics, including chromosomes, gonads
and/or genitals that do not allow an individual to be distinctly identified as female/ male at birth.
British Council
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Teachers, what is gendered language?
By Jemma Prior
01 March 2017 - 19:00
'Gendered language has a bias towards a particular sex.'
What exactly is gendered language and why should you warn language learners about it? Jemma Prior
explains, ahead of her online seminar on Wednesday, 8 March.
Does 'gendered language' mean words that have genders in certain languages, e.g., ‘la table’ in French,
or words that make gendered assumptions, e.g., ‘air hostess’?
English doesn’t really have a grammatical gender as many other languages do. It doesn’t have a
masculine or a feminine for nouns, unless they refer to biological sex (e.g., woman, boy, Ms etc).
So gendered language is commonly understood as language that has a bias towards a particular sex or
social gender. In English, this would include using gender-specific terms referring to professions or
people, such as 'businessman' or 'waitress', or using the masculine pronouns (he, him, his) to refer to
people in general, such as 'a doctor should know how to communicate with his patients'.
The use of gendered language, like the examples above, perpetuates what academic Allyson Jule calls
'the historical patriarchal hierarchy that has existed between men and women, where one (man) is
considered the norm, and the other (woman) is marked as other – as something quite different from the
norm'.
This can lead to women being excluded or rendered invisible. There are examples of this in studies,
notably by Casey Miller and Kate Swift, that describe that when people are given words like
'businessman' and 'fireman', the vast majority of them will later describe, illustrate or visualise men
doing these jobs.
What is the benefit of teaching gender-neutral language to English learners?
This type of language is no longer acceptable in many sectors of society, so learners should be taught
how to avoid it. It is not accepted in academia, research, publishing, and many business contexts – all
sectors that learners are often involved in, or will be, once they have left school or university.
It also needs to be taught because many learners' mother tongues are grammatically gendered
languages. Saying something like 'a doctor should know how to communicate with his patients' may be
perfectly acceptable grammatically for these learners, because in their own language, 'doctor' is
probably masculine, from a grammatical perspective.
At what stages of the learning process does it tend to crop up as an issue?
In my experience, it crops up everywhere and at any level. I teach at university level, and it should have
been dealt with a long time before learners arrive at their undergraduate studies. But this doesn’t seem
to be the case. Students are shocked when I bring it up and teach them how to avoid it.
Can you share some techniques for spotting gendered language?
Gendered language is generally not that difficult to spot. However, there are some examples which
people may not have considered before.
The most obvious is the use of language that has a bias towards one of the sexes (usually male) for
gender-neutral concepts, as in my earlier example, where a gender-neutral subject (a doctor) is assigned
a masculine pronoun (his patients). This also includes job titles that are gender-specific such as
policeman/policewoman, when there is no need to specify the sex of the person. That’s why we
nowadays tend to have gender-neutral terms for professions. In this context, we would use 'police
officer'.
Another less obvious instance is the use of words that were once equivalents, but have changed over
time because of the way women were – and still are - seen and treated in society. Compare the words in
pairs such as 'bachelor' and 'spinster', or 'master' and 'mistress'. You can see that the female word has
been rendered less prestigious, or has developed sexual connotations.
One more example is the tendency for the male version to come first in binomials such as 'men and
women', 'brothers and sisters', 'boys and girls', or 'Mr and Mrs'. Many words that incorporate the word
'man', such as 'man-made', 'mankind', 'manpower', have perfectly acceptable gender-neutral
alternatives: for example, 'artificial' or 'synthetic', 'humankind', and 'workforce'.
Many people who are not sexist would use terms like 'mankind' without a second thought. Why should
they avoid these words?
It’s true that some people may consider finding an alternative for 'mankind' as an example of 'political
correctness gone mad', but words like this still exclude women, or make them invisible, and they tend to
demean the contribution to society that women have made, and still make today.
In the end, it’s a question of awareness. If we are aware that there are words and expressions that are
used on a daily basis in our language, which could cause offence because they tend to demean women
and girls and their contribution and roles in society, then we can try to avoid these words. People’s
attitudes will be more respectful, and we may create a more tolerant and equal society.
The academic Deborah Cameron writes: 'Anti-feminists are fond of observing that eliminating generic
masculine pronouns does not secure equal pay. Indeed it does not – whoever said it would? Eliminating
generic masculine pronouns precisely eliminates generic masculine pronouns. And in so doing it changes
the repertoire of social meanings and choices available to social actors'.
I think we owe it to all women – our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters – to actively think about the
language we use, and choose to use words and expressions that are inclusive and do not belittle,
discriminate or cause offence. As teachers, we also have a duty to teach this aspect.
Is this a particular problem with students whose first language has grammatical gender?
I teach in Italy. Most of my students have Italian or German as their first languages, and it is most
definitely a problem for these students.
Can you share some practical ways to bring gender-neutral language into your syllabus?
From the research I have done in this subject, I can assure you that mainstream English-language
coursebooks don’t teach this aspect of language at all. If teachers want to teach it, they are going to
have to do it themselves.
To raise awareness, I often take some of the sentences my students have produced and ask them to tell
me what the language problem is. One example I use is: 'A teacher should correct his students' work
following clear criteria'. Once the use of 'his' is highlighted, we discuss whether women can be teachers
(of course they can) and I bring the assumption of male gender to the students' attention. We then
discuss how prevalent the assumption is, and why it might be harmful to women and girls.
Can you share some ways to correct it in a gentle way (so the student doesn’t feel embarrassed and
upset)?
This is a topic that needs to be handled delicately, as I have had students react negatively in the past.
Some just think it’s ridiculous and political correctness gone mad. Others become offended and feel they
are being attacked. Many just don’t understand how harmful this kind of language can be.
During class time, I often try to correct mistakes in a more lighthearted way when they are speaking, and
may ask them explicitly whether, for example, only men are teachers or doctors. You don’t need to do
this very many times for students to become aware of the issue and learn what to look out for. If they
use gendered language in their written work, then I highlight it, together with other general grammar
and lexical problems. I encourage them to think of an alternative way to express the concept, which is a
good way to stretch and improve their skills.
How big a problem is the use of gendered language?
I think it’s mainly a linguistic problem. As a teacher in Italy, I face this issue at the institutional level and
in my classroom, due to English being used by predominately non-native speakers.
Teachers should be aware that if students use gendered language in a context where it's not acceptable,
it could cause them problems. I’ll leave you with an anecdote from an article by an English language
teacher, Julia Sudo:
'We were discussing something, and I said, “An advanced computer user knows what he needs…”,
[when] a female colleague suddenly interrupted, “Are you saying women cannot be advanced computer
users?” I thought she was joking and laughed, but then realised I was the only one laughing, and she was
looking at me as if I were her personal enemy'.
Gendered language is pervasive, but people aren’t necessarily aware of it. My advice is to keep your
eyes and ears open. When you come across it, do something about it.
How does grammatical gender affect noun representations gender-making languages?
Many natural languages assign grammatical gender also to inanimate nouns in the language. In such
languages, words that relate to the gender-marked nouns are inflected to agree with the noun’s gender.
We show that this affects the word representations of inanimate nouns, resulting in nouns with the
same gender being closer to each other than nouns with different gender. While “embedding debiasing”
methods fail to remove the effect, we demonstrate that a careful application of methods that neutralize
grammatical gender signals from the words’ context when training word embeddings is effective in
removing it. Fixing the grammatical gender bias yields a positive effect on the quality of the resulting
word embeddings, both in monolingual and cross-lingual settings. We note that successfully removing
gender signals, while achievable, is not trivial to do and that a language-specific morphological analyzer,
together with careful usage of it, are essential for achieving good results.
REFERENCES
https://gender.jhpiego.org/analysistoolkit/gender-concepts-and-definitions/
https://genderspectrum.org/articles/understanding-gender
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/lingo
https://semantics.uchicago.edu/kennedy/classes/sum07/myths/myths4-gender.pdf
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/cochise-sociology-os/chapter/the-social-construction-of-gender/
