Questions tagged [gender]
Questions regarding the grammatical gender of English words.
188
questions
10
votes
6answers
4k views
What's the feminine equivalent of “your obedient servant” as a letter closing? [closed]
I'm a student learning English and recently came across the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Japan, which ends with:
I have the honour to be, with high consideration,
Sir,
Your obedient servant,...
0
votes
0answers
88 views
How do unisex names come about in English?
TL;DR
How do unisex names develop amidst, or out of, gendered ones in English (and other languages)?
Detail
In English, many (most?) names have a gender assignment of male or female. However, some are ...
1
vote
0answers
59 views
Is there a gender-neutral version for expressions like “sister site”?
I have recently seen "sister site" being used and I am wondering if there is a gender-neutral equivalent for it.
In my native language (Romanian) expressions like "brother X" or &...
-1
votes
1answer
1k views
What are existing gender-neutral words for various relatives? [closed]
In a world where gender identity notation is important, we need gender-neutral words to refer to relatives. "Spouse," "sibling," and "nibling" (niece or nephew) are the ...
0
votes
0answers
52 views
What's a gender neutral word that you can use for he/she? [duplicate]
I was reading the preface of a book and it had a single word to address people from both the genders (male/female), don't get me wrong that I am not including the other genders here.
The question is: ...
-5
votes
2answers
78 views
When talking to the child of a same sex couple, is it more standard to say “your parents” or “your fathers”/“your mothers”? [closed]
When talking about an opposite sex couple, it's standard to talk about "your parents", because it's a lot less wordy than "your mother and father". But what's more standard for a same sex couple? "...
0
votes
1answer
98 views
Is there a politically correct way to speak about reproductive health, justice, etc., which doesn't unnecessarily gender the issue?
Most cisgender women, some intersex people of different variations, most transgender men, some AFAB non-binary people, and most people who are assigned females on the whole are usually the ones who ...
-3
votes
1answer
59 views
What is the politically correct replacement of the adjectives “female” and “male” with regard to trans* people's bodies?
I've just discovered this little forum, so I shall be giving it much use as there are lots of thing over which I need to go.
I know that there are some trans* people who are really uncomfortable ...
6
votes
2answers
232 views
Can I use gender (she) to refer to a disease
I'm translating a novel from Spanish to English, and in the very first chapter there's a sentence that roughly translates as "we followed a strict diet, especially after She appeared". In this case, ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
What dictionary provides gender association for each word? [closed]
As a nonnative English speaker, I often struggle to define gender in many words. Earth is a āsheā, war is āheā, for example, but what gender a word āpersonā belongs to? Same about thousands of other ...
67
votes
7answers
14k views
Was “man” a gender-neutral word in common usage at some point?
I've seen some times the claim that in the past "man" was a non-gendered word, with "wifman" referring to female individuals and "wereman" referring to male individuals. I've found some indications ...
2
votes
2answers
120 views
How to explicitly specify non-binary support when using pronouns?
My native language uses the equivalent of he/his as the default gender-less pronoun. When using English (as a second language) most people use "he/she" or "him/her" to indicate a person of unknown/...
-1
votes
1answer
155 views
Should we use “man” or “woman” to describe someone who identifies with female, but with male sexual physical appearance? [closed]
Inspired by a recent gender-noun controversy, I wonder how to properly address someone with obvious male sexual physical appearance, but who is insisted on being called a "she" ( probably because that'...
1
vote
4answers
439 views
Is there any verb for making a girl more girly?
'Feminize' is used for making a boy more girly. We can say, "She is forcibly feminizing her boyfriend." But is there a word for pushing a girl to be more feminine?
The Oxford Dictionary of English ...
1
vote
0answers
78 views
Can “domine” be used to refer to a woman?
In my native language God is named "Dumnezeu" which comes from Latin "Domine Deus". Wiktionary indicates that "Domine" is still being used in English (or at least a dictionary contains it) meaning:
...
21
votes
11answers
7k views
A term for a woman complaining about things/begging in a cute/childish way
I'm trying to find a fitting translation for a Chinese term, which means that a woman is trying to be cute in front of her man in order to get what she wants. While she does this, her voice will ...
0
votes
3answers
3k views
“Ladies and Gentlemen” beyond binary gender classification
Hearing the usual greeting on a train, I started wondering if there is already an established alternative to "Ladies and Gentlemen" that is applicable beyond the male/female classification. (For ...
1
vote
0answers
210 views
Is this sentence grammatically correct and can be used for Women's Day?
Let women rise and use their strength to contribute to the world.
I need to use this sentence for a Women's Day social media design. But there are two doubts:
Should it be women or woman?
Let women ...
-2
votes
2answers
182 views
Can the epicene personal pronoun ātheyā be used regardless of semantic gender of the word?
Can the epicene personal pronoun they be used regardless of semantic gender of the word?
In other words, for any word with semantic gender (i.e. lion, lioness, boy, girl, man, woman, cow, bull) ...
0
votes
2answers
103 views
How can one include all people in one's written and spoken language irrespective of one's gender identity(s)? [closed]
I am totally in favour of including non-binary folks in my written and spoken speech, though I'm not sure exactly how I go about doing it competently without sounding like I am trying to avoid ...
0
votes
2answers
102 views
Can “old man” be used by females to address unrelated older men?
I'm a fan-translator, translating from Oriental languages to English, and I've been told to translate "uncle" to "old man", since a direct translation would imply a familial relation where there was ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Feminine form of āsonā when used as term of endearment [duplicate]
It seems natural and appropriate for an older man to call a non-relative boy/young man āsonā to convey endearment. Although Iām not sure, I think itās unofficially reserved for menās use only (the ...
0
votes
1answer
197 views
He, she, it with animals [closed]
When I want to write the story about little puppy, I have found on the street, should I use it or other gender?
0
votes
1answer
42 views
how to ignore gender nicely in english? can i make the sentence plural? [duplicate]
why is this possible to replace:
someone removed his/her with someone removed their
can I also change:
The user clicks on the button. He/She then sees.. with
The user clicks on the button. They ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
Debutante in a sporting context?
The Collins English Dictionary defines a "debutant" as
"a person who is making a first appearance in a particular capacity, such as a sportsperson playing in a first game for a team"
As the ...
1
vote
2answers
201 views
What causes the predominantly female gendering of objects?
In English, objects are not generally gendered, as we have neutral pronouns used specifically for that purpose. I've noticed that when gendered pronouns are used for non-gendered objects, though, ...
7
votes
1answer
2k views
Specifying Pronouns as He/Him;She/Her;They/Them
It is becoming more common for people to explicitly state the pronouns to be used in addressing themselves: he/him, she/her, or they/them. For example, a name tag for a conference might read:
Cory ...
-1
votes
1answer
355 views
How to say āunisex for childrenā in english language (without sounding weird) [closed]
I'm trying to find the professional wording that describes "unisex" (male + female) in the children fashion industry. It seems that most fashion shops simply name this "children" or "kids", avoiding ...
0
votes
1answer
150 views
Gender of word “Unity”
I'm writing an article in Polish about game engine named "Unity". I constructed the following sentence:
Unity jest bardzo jednolita, jeÅli chodzi o encje i komponenty.
This translates more or less ...
9
votes
4answers
4k views
Does the term “Brotherhood” imply that all members are males?
I'm writing a story that has a secret society or gang called "The Brotherhood", and I want to know if this term implies that all members are males (because of the term "Brother").
Would this name ...
1
vote
3answers
4k views
Is it correct to apply “Housewife” term for an unmarried woman who does house-chores?
I would like to know what is the appropriate label to describe a young woman/girl who is unmarried, stays in her parents' home, does the house chores, and has no income. She is not also looking for a ...
51
votes
9answers
31k views
How do you say “Come on, man” to a woman?
I've heard people saying phrases like down below.
"That's not cool, man"
"Dude, look at this"
"Hey, calm down, bro"
But these words are supposed to be said to a male ...
3
votes
2answers
8k views
When did the word “guys” become popular as a gender-neutral word?
It's normal nowadays to walk into a room (men and women, boys and girls etc) and go, "Hey guys!". Has this always been the case, or what?
2
votes
3answers
217 views
How to translate Portuguese demonyms containing gender?
I can say "Brazilian company" (empresa brasileira, in Portuguese) for a company in Brazil. If the company resides in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, in Portuguese we say "empresa mineira", or for ...
1
vote
2answers
5k views
Is there a Male suffix equivalent to -et/-ette?
I wanted to add a suffix to crone and damsel that would make them masculine without resorting to a male equivalent word, (that's a different question.)
We have the male-to-female conversion example ...
0
votes
1answer
3k views
Feminine form of “god king/emperor”
I'm trying to figure out what the correct feminine forms of "god king" and "god emperor" are. Do I just replace "king" and "emperor" with their feminine equivalents (i.e. "god queen" and "god empress")...
0
votes
1answer
13k views
Gender neutral noun for brotherhood / sisterhood? [duplicate]
Example 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_White_Brotherhood
Example 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotherhood_of_Eternal_Love
http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/brotherhood?s=t
Any other ideas?
...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
Is there a female equivalent of “prince” in the sense of “sovereign”? [closed]
A "prince" could mean heir to the throne, but I'm speaking of "prince" in the same way that Machiavelli did: as a ruler of a princedom.
1) Is there a word for a female ruler of a princedom? Certainly ...
4
votes
5answers
17k views
Mr. and Mrs. Homer Simpson - Using husband's first/last name for wife?
I originally heard this in an old episode of the Simpsons, where Apu refers to Marge as "Mrs. Homer Simpson". I've also noticed something similar in the movie "The Wedding Singer" where the titular ...
0
votes
3answers
19k views
Is “sweetheart” gender-specific? [closed]
I'm not a native speaker, but at least here in California, it seems that "sweetheart" refers predominantly to women.
How customary is for a woman to call man "sweetheart"?
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Does the archaic prefix wer/wep have modern descendants?
From what Iāve read on this site and elsewhere, the root āmanā was originally sex-neutral; the sex-specific terms were āwifmanā (which later became āwomanā) and either āwermanā or āwepmanā. The male-...
0
votes
2answers
739 views
Pronouns and Gender Bias // Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement [duplicate]
I understand pronouns and their antecedents must agree (a singular pronoun must have a singular antecedent, and a plural pronoun must have a plural antecedent). However, I can not find an elegant ...
0
votes
2answers
330 views
What is correct? If Bob was a girl (he / she) would run [closed]
The gender of the subject is masculine but the situation is that the subject is feminine. What should the pronoun be?
2
votes
3answers
8k views
What should I use: “hero” or “heroine”? [duplicate]
I want to know, can I use hero in this sentence to refer to someone who is female? Does it make sense?
Mom you are my hero.
Or is it better to say
Mom you are my heroine.
2
votes
3answers
876 views
Is “to scold” gender-specific?
The following meanings for the word "scold" are given in Oxford Dictionaries:
a woman who nags or grumbles constantly.
remonstrate with or rebuke (someone) angrily.
So, the first one is a ...
2
votes
2answers
216 views
Which pronoun should be used to refer to“young figure”: “it” or “her”?
In my writing group, one man wrote this sentence in an except we critiqued:
John stood for a moment and watched the lithe, young figure make her way down the street.
I suggested it should read "...
3
votes
1answer
130 views
White Women's T-shirt vs Women's White T-shirt
Which way of describing a women's t-shirt is grammatically correct out of the following two descriptions? 'A white women's t-shirt featuring a flowery design.' or 'A women's white t-shirt featuring a ...
4
votes
2answers
6k views
Is āhandsomeā associated with masculinity and āprettyā associated with femininity? [duplicate]
TL;DRā See title:
Are the attributes in āhandsome girlā and āpretty boyā perfectly interchangeable?
Is there an implicit, gender-specific connotation in āhandsomeā (ā) and āprettyā (ā)?
This video ...
50
votes
5answers
9k views
Usage and origin of “sister” in expressions like “sister company, sister ship, sister site” etc
The term sister is often used figuratively to refer, for instance, to a āsister companyā for a company within the same group, or to a āsister siteā for sites that belong to the same family. This ...
2
votes
2answers
105 views
Why does Joseph Addison use 'her' to refer to 'soul'?
Iām reading an article by Joseph Addison, The Tatler #108, dated December 17, 1709. He says:
The finest authors of antiquity have taken him on the more
advantageous side. They cultivate the ...
