Sexist Gender-Free

The average student is The average student is

worried about his grades, worried about grades.

Ask the student to hand in Ask students to hand in
his work as soon as he their work as soon as

is finished. they are finished.

Sex-Role Stereotyping.The words we use of ten reflect a sex-role bias – the assumption that certain roles or professions belong to men and others belong to women. To eliminate sex-role stereotyping, avoid, for example, making the hypothetical elementary school teacher female and the college professor male. Avoid referring to doctors as male and nurses as female. Avoid noting the sex of a professional with terms such as female doctor or male nurse. When you are referring to a specific doctor or nurse, the person's sex will become clear when you use the appropriate pronoun: "Dr. Smith wrote the prescription for her new patient" or "The nurse recorded the patient's temperature himself."

Racism

According to Andrea Rich, "any language that, through a conscious or unconscious attempt by the user, places a particular racial or ethnic group in an inferior position is racist." Racist languageexpresses racist attitudes. It also contributes to the development of racist attitudes in those who use or hear the language. This effect, of course, is similar to the way sexist and heterosexist language perpetuates sexist and heterosexist attitudes. Even when racism is subtle, unintentional, or even unconscious, its effects are systematically damaging.

Members of one culture use racist terms to disparage members of other cultures, their customs, or their accomplishments and to establish and maintain power over other groups. Racist language emphasizes differences rather than similarities and separates rather than unites members of different cultures. The social consequences of racist language in terms of employment, education, housing opportunities, and general community acceptance are well known. It has often been pointed out. that there are aspects of language that may be inherently racist. For example, one examination of English found 134 synonyms for white. Of these, 44 had positive connotations (for example, clean, chaste, and unblemished) and only 10 had negative connotations (for example, whitewash and pale). The remaining terms were relatively neutral. Of the 120 synonyms for black, 60 had unfavorable connotations (unclean, foreboding, and deadly) and none had positive connotations.

Consider the following expressions:

■the Korean doctor

■the Chicano prodigy

■the African American mathematician

■the white health aide

Often, people use these identifiers to emphasize that the combination of race and occupation (or talent or accomplishment) is rare and unexpected, that this member of a given ethnic group is an exception. Using racial identifiers also implies that racial factors are somehow important in the context. In some cases, of course, a racial identifier is in fact relevant to the conversation. For example, in commenting on changes in Hollywood films, you might say, "This is the first year that both best acting awards were won by African Americans." In the vast majority of cases, however, identifiers of these types are best left unused.

Ageism

Ageism is discrimination based on age. One researcher offers a more comprehensive definition: "any attitude, action, or institutional structure which subordinates a person or group because of age or any assignment of roles in society purely on the basis of age". In the United States and throughout much of the industrialized world, ageism signifies discrimination against the old and against aging in general. But ageism can also involve prejudice against other age groups. For example, if you describe all teenagers as selfish and undependable, you're discriminating against a group purely because of their age and thus are ageist in your statements. In some cultures – some Asian and some African cultures, for

example – the old are revered and respected. Younger people seek them out for advice on economic, ethical, and relationship issues.

Popular language is replete with examples of ageist phrases; little old lady, old hag, old-timer, over the hill, old coot, and old fogy are just some examples. As with sexism or racism, qualifying a description of someone in terms of his or her age demonstrates ageism. For example, if you refer to "a quick-witted 75-year-old" or "an agile 65-year-old" or "a responsible teenager," you are implying that these qualities are unusual in people of these ages and thus need special mention. You are saying that "quick-wittedness" and "being 75" do not normally go together; you imply the same abnormality for "agility" and "being 65" and for "responsibility" and "being a teenager." The problem with this kind of stereotyping is that it's simply wrong. There are many 80-year-olds who are extremely quick witted (and many 30-year-olds who aren't).

You also communicate ageism when you speak to older people in overly simple words or explain things that don't need explaining. Nonverbally, you demonstrate ageist communication when, for example, you avoid touching an older person but touch others, or when you avoid making direct eye contact with the older person but readily do so with others. Also, it's a mistake to speak to an older person at an overly high volume; this suggests that all older people have hearing difficulties, and it tends to draw attention to the fact that you are talking down to the older person.

Of course, the media perpetuate ageist stereotypes by depicting older people as unproductive, complaining, and unromantic. Rarely, for example, do television shows or films show older people working productively, being cooperative and pleasant, and engaging in romantic and sexual relationships.

One useful way to avoid ageism is to recognize and avoid the illogical stereotypes that ageist language is based on.

■Avoid talking down to a person because he or she is older. Older people are

not mentally slow; most people remain mentally alert well into old age.

■Don't assume you have to refresh an older person's memory each time you

see the person. Older people can and do remember things.

■Avoid implying that relationships are no longer important. Older people

continue to be interested in relationships.

■Don't speak at an abnormally high volume or maintain overly close

physical distances. Being older does not mean being hard of hearing or

being unable to see; most older people hear and see quite well, sometimes

with hearing aids or glasses.

■Engage older people in conversation as you would wish to be engaged. Older people are interested in the world around them.

Even though you want to avoid ageist communication, there are times when you may wish to make adjustments when talking with someone who does have language or communication difficulties. Reduce as much background noise as you can.

■Ease into the conversation by beginning with casual topics and then moving

into more familiar topics. Stay with each topic for a while; avoid jumping

too quickly from one topic to another.

■Speak in relatively short sentences and questions.

■Give the person added time to respond, and resist showing impatience.

Some older people react more slowly and need extra time.

■Listen actively. Practice the skills of active listening discussed in the

previous unit.

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