Editing Gender neutrality in English (section)

==Debate==
Supporters of gender-neutral language argue that making language less biased is not only laudable but also achievable. Some people find the use of non-neutral language to be offensive.<ref>{{cite web |last = Chappell |first = Virginia |title = Tips for Using Inclusive, Gender Neutral Language |work=Marquette.edu |date=2007 |url=http://www.marquette.edu/wac/neutral/NeutralInclusiveLanguage.shtml | access-date=July 16, 2016}}</ref>

<blockquote>[There is] a growing awareness that language does not merely reflect the way we think: it also shapes our thinking. If words and expressions that imply that women are inferior to men are constantly used, that assumption of inferiority tends to become part of our mindset... Language is a powerful tool: poets and propagandists know this – as, indeed, do victims of discrimination.<ref>"Guidelines on Gender-Neutral Language", page 4. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 1999. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001149/114950mo.pdf. Accessed March 25, 2007.</ref></blockquote>

The standards advocated by supporters of the gender-neutral modification in English have been applied differently and to differing degrees among English speakers worldwide. This reflects differences in [[culture]] and language structure, for example [[American English]] in contrast to [[British English]].

===Support for===
Supporters of gender-neutral language argue that the use of gender-specific language often implies male superiority or reflects an unequal state of society.<ref>{{harvp|Spender|1980|p=x}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Miller|Swift|1988|pp=45, 64, 66}}</ref> According to ''The Handbook of English Linguistics'', generic masculine pronouns and gender-specific job titles are instances "where English linguistic convention has historically treated men as prototypical of the human species."<ref name="handbook linguistics">Aarts, Bas and April M. S. McMahon. [https://books.google.com/books?id=tzyAyl1retcC&pg=PA737 ''The Handbook of English Linguistics.''] Malden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell Pub., 2006, {{ISBN|978-1-4051-1382-3}}.</ref> That masculine forms are used to represent all human beings is in accord with the traditional gender hierarchy, which grants men more power and higher social status than women.<ref name="Prewitt-Freilino, Gendering">{{Cite journal |last1=Prewitt-Freilino |first1=J.L. |last2=Caswell |first2=T.A. |last3=Laakso |first3=E.K. |title=The Gendering of Language: A Comparison of Gender Equality in Countries with Gendered, Natural Gender, and Genderless Languages. |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-0083-5 |journal=Sex Roles |year=2012 |volume=66 |issue=3–4 |pages=268–281 |publisher=SpringerLink |doi=10.1007/s11199-011-0083-5 |s2cid=145066913 |access-date=14 March 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Supporters also argue that words that refer to women often devolve in meaning, frequently developing sexual overtones.<ref>{{harvp|Spender|1980|p=18}}</ref>

''[[The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing]]'' says that the words children hear affect their perceptions of the gender-appropriateness of certain [[career]]s (e.g. firemen vs firefighters).<ref name="Miller and Swift 1988">{{harvp|Miller|Swift|1988}}</ref> Men and women apply for jobs in more equal proportions when gender-neutral language is used in the advertisement, as opposed to the generic ''he'' or ''man''.<ref name="Mills 1995">{{harvp|Mills|1995}}</ref> Some critics  claim that these differences in usage are not accidental, but have been deliberately created for the purpose of upholding a [[Patriarchy|patriarchal society]].<ref>{{harvp|Spender|1980|pp=1-6}}</ref>

=== Opposition ===
Various criticisms have been leveled against the use of gender-neutral language, most focusing on specific usages, such as the use of "human" instead of "man" and "they" instead of "he". Opponents argue that the use of any other forms of language other than gender-specific language could "lead one into using awkward or grating constructions" or neologisms that are so ugly as to be "abominations".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Jack |title=Guide to Grammar and Style |url=http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/index.html |work=rutgers.edu |access-date=July 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707185851/http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/index.html |archive-date=July 7, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Opponents of gender-neutral language often argue that its proponents are impinging on the right of free expression and promoting censorship, as well as being overly accommodating to the sensitivities of a minority.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.one-eternal-day.com/2009/08/world-safe-from-male-pronouns.html |title=One Eternal Day: A world safe from male pronouns |newspaper=One-eternal-day.com |date=August 4, 2009  |author=Louis Markos |access-date=July 16, 2016}}</ref> A few commentators do not disagree with the usage of gender-neutral language, but they do question the effectiveness of gender-neutral language in overcoming [[sexism]].<ref name="Mills 1995"/><ref name="pauwels">{{cite book|chapter = Linguistic Sexism and Feminist Linguistic Activism|last = Pauwels|first = Anne|date = 2003|title = The Handbook and Language of Gender|pages = 550–570|doi = 10.1002/9780470756942.ch24|isbn = 9780470756942}}</ref>

===In religion===
{{See also|Bible version debate|Gender in Bible translation}}
Much debate over the use of gender-neutral language surrounds questions of [[liturgy]] and [[Bible translation]]. Some translations of the Bible in recent years have used gender-inclusive pronouns, but these translations have not been universally accepted.<ref name="bresearcher">{{Cite web | url=http://www.bible-researcher.com/inclusive.html | title=The Gender-Neutral Language Controversy | publisher=Bible Research | access-date=8 August 2014}}</ref>

===Naming practices===
{{See also|Married and maiden names}}
Some critics oppose the practice of women changing their names upon marriage, on the grounds that it makes women historically invisible: "In our society 'only men have real names' in that their names are permanent and they have 'accepted the permanency of their names as one of the rights of being male.'... Essentially this practice means that women's family names do not count and that there is one more device for making women invisible."<ref>{{harvp|Spender|1980|p=24}}</ref> Up until the 1970s, as women were granted greater access to professions, they would be less likely to change their names, either professionally or legally; names were seen as tied to reputations and women were less likely to change their names when they had higher reputations.<ref>{{harvp|Stannard|1977|pp=164-166}}</ref> However, that trend was reversed starting in the 1970s; since that time, increasingly more women have been taking their husband's surname upon marriage, especially among well-educated women in high-earning occupations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2011/05/08/the-name-change-dilemma/ |title=The Name Change Dilemma - The Juggle |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 8, 2011 |author=Sue Shelenbarger |access-date=July 16, 2016}}</ref> Increasingly, studies have shown women's decisions on the issue are guided by factors other than political or religious ideas about women's rights or marital roles, as often believed.

The practice of referring to married women by their husband's first and last names, which only died out in the late 20th century, has been criticized since the 19th century. When the [[Reverend]] Samuel May "moved that Mrs Stephen Smith be placed on a Committee" of the [[National Women's Rights Convention]] in [[Seneca Falls (village), New York|Seneca Falls]], [[Lucretia Mott]] quickly replied: "Woman's Rights' women do not like to be called by their husbands' names, but by their own".<ref>Quoted in {{harvp|Stannard|1977|p=3}}</ref> [[Elizabeth Cady Stanton]] refused to be addressed as "Mrs Henry B. Stanton".<ref>{{harvp|Stannard|1977|p=4}}</ref> The practice was developed in the mid-18th century and was tied to the idea of [[coverture]], the idea that "By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law; that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage."<ref>Henry Blackstone, ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', quoted in {{harvp|Stannard|1977|p=9}}</ref>

There is a tendency among scientists to refer to women by their first and last name and to men by their last name only. This may result in female scientists being perceived as less eminent than their male colleagues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2172515-calling-men-by-their-surname-gives-them-an-unfair-career-boost|title=Calling men by their surname gives them an unfair career boost|access-date=6 July 2018}}</ref>