Questions tagged [gender-neutral]
This tag is for questions related to gender neutral pronouns, nouns, and sentences.
192
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Why are pronouns in gender-like listings always come in threes?
In a bio you might be asked to list the pronouns you'd like to be addressed with. For example:
they/them/theirs
or
she/her/hers
But why does this list has three entries? Wouldn't it be enough to ...
- 498
2
votes
1
answer
238
views
Gender independent term for address a superior or higher up
For times when I am unaware of whether my superior is male or female, it would be very convenient to have a gender neutral term for addressing them.
For example, in the sentence:
Hello _____ , I have ...
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-3
votes
1
answer
158
views
Word for a nonbinary person who can transform into a wolf
The word 'werewolf' contains the element 'were', which refers specifically to males. While there is a corresponding term for women, I have found no such elements regarding nonbinary people
Is there ...
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0
answers
42
views
How (in what number) do I use verbs with the single-person gender-neutral "they"? [duplicate]
A transgender colleague requires being referred to as "they" and not "he /she" In what number do I use verbs with this pronoun when it refers to a single person: they is/ are(?) ...
1
vote
1
answer
2k
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Among younger speakers, is 'bro' now gender-neutral?
I often hear 'bro' being used in a gender-neutral manner among younger speakers (mainly teenagers), and I'm wondering about the specifics of this trend. (Or at least it seems like a trend to me.)
Here ...
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13
votes
2
answers
3k
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Is -ist a gender-neutral ending?
A person who does mathematics is a mathematician. I assume that this is a gender-neutral term. Are words ending with "-ist" gender-neutral? (typist, type theorist, and so on) Or should I ...
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26
votes
3
answers
292
views
"Guys" losing its gendered meaning in American English
Disclaimer - I have very little knowledge of semantics, and I am mostly just a phonetics enthusiast. Thus, my question and the way I explain it may be unprofessional or may lack linguistic rigor.
I'm ...
- 890
1
vote
2
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226
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Inclusive word/expression for couples that aren't man-woman
I want to refer to all couples which aren’t man-woman couples.
One expression would be “same-sex couples”. But even "same-sex" doesn't cover everything, as it reaffirms the idea of binary ...
- 127
0
votes
2
answers
309
views
Is the pronoun "it" gender-neutral pronoun? [closed]
Is the pronoun "it" a gender-neutral one? If so, then is it okay to use it to refer to supernatural entities?
- 11
2
votes
4
answers
5k
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Is there a female or gender neutral equivalent for the verb to sire?
Is there a good equivalent for to sire I could use for a woman who mothered a child? Obviously other than to mother itself.
- 29
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3
answers
248
views
Gender Neutral Alternative to "Tough Guy"
I am designing a board game in which you are a member of mafia and not a nice person. There is an action in the game named 'reputation' (or 'build reputation'). I need to write a short introductory ...
- 109
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0
answers
32
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If the customer often updates * their * file? gender-neutral pronoun for client/customer [duplicate]
This is a bit like Could I use the gender-neutral “their” for the antecedent “account”?
In business language, should you use singular or plural pronouns for a client or customer that stands for a ...
- 161
0
votes
5
answers
759
views
Gender-neutral term for milkman
"Milkman" is a gendered term. I realise that having milk delivered every morning stopped being common before gender-neutral language started to become popular, but still, there must have ...
- 1,055
1
vote
1
answer
202
views
Inclusive replacement for gentleman/lady
All,
I recently misgendered an individual by referring to them as a gentleman rather than a lady. Regardless of whether an individual is cisgender or transgender, it would be useful to have an ...
- 492
1
vote
0
answers
56
views
Can the third person pronoun "they" be used to refer to the singular gender-neutral pronoun "one"? [duplicate]
For instance, would it be correct to say "One must be careful so that they do not lose control of the vehicle while driving in heavy snow"?
I think I have read similar phrases before but I ...
- 111
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votes
2
answers
198
views
When using "their" as a gender-neutral singular pronoun, should a noun that follows be singular or plural?
For instance, would it be correct to say "The pharmacist held the medicine in their hand"?
Thank you so much!
- 111
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0
answers
72
views
What is a gender-neutral or inclusive term for "craftsmen"? [duplicate]
I understand craftsmen may not technically be considered a gendered term, however, it has '-men' in it. So, I would rather use something else that doesn't exclude those who are maybe unfamiliar with ...
- 133
1
vote
1
answer
99
views
Does grammar become tricky when ‘she is’ becomes ‘they is/are’? [duplicate]
Hilary Mantel said recently that she had been ‘misgendered’ in a university publication by being referred to as ‘they’, not ‘she’. She says she was not singled out; all other alumni were similarly ...
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2
answers
400
views
What is gender-neutral equivalent of poster boy/poster girl?
What is the gender-neutral equivalent of poster boy/poster girl?
I want to use it in the context of a company, which is neither he nor she, like in: "a poster boy/poster girl company for self-...
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3
votes
3
answers
534
views
True or False: "English lacks a standard gender-neutral second-person plural pronoun."
It's news to me, but apparently Joe Pinsker (affiliated with The Atlantic?) says so in this article.
The problem, for those who want to ditch [the usage of] "guys", is that their language ...
- 253
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2
answers
739
views
Gender neutrality when quoting English originals and translations?
I have read most of the gender neutrality threads on this forum and googled but failed to find detailed proposals on one aspect of gender neutrality: using it when QUOTING sources written originally ...
0
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2
answers
977
views
"Every man and his dog" feminine equivalent
Is there a feminine or female version of “every man and his dog”?
Every man and his dog were at the amusement park.
The original phrase sounds a bit sexist to me.
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27
votes
17
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13k
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Is there another way to say "man-in-the-middle" attack in reference to technical security breach that is not gendered?
Our company has determined that the term "man-in-the-middle (attack)", which is computer science lingo, is non-compliant with our stance on gender neutrality.
What is the best way to use ...
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answers
156
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 ...
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3
votes
3
answers
4k
views
What is the gender-neutral way of saying “gentlemen’s agreement”?
How can we refer to a gentlemen's agreement in a gender-neutral way in English?
In Spanish we use palabra de honor meaning “word of honor”, which carries no assumption about anyone’s sex.
- 169
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0
answers
49
views
Usage of "she" instead of "he" for inclusiveness [duplicate]
Ten to five years ago I was reading MSDN Magazine, and in a few articles I stumbled upon sentences like "The user should... She needs to...", with "she" referring to the user. ...
- 101
1
vote
5
answers
722
views
Gender neutral term for 'paternalistic'
Some political policies, such as a sugar-tax, can be described as 'paternalistic' meaning that they treat the population as children and the government as a parent that 'knows what's best for them'.
...
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1
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1
answer
2k
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What is a gender-neutral word(s) for the word "maternity"? [closed]
The word maternity as in the sentence "the maternity wear is over there. If you'd like to follow me..." is typically the go-to language when describing, talking with, or about pregnant persons' wear, ...
-1
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2
answers
655
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What is the politically correct way for one to refer to God? In other words, how can one eliminate gendered pronouns entirely from one's God-talk?
It seems that for one to refer to God as he bothers some people --- and I can see from where they are coming as I, too, oppose referring to God in the feminine and masculine because God is neither ...
0
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1
answer
209
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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
1
answer
904
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 ...
4
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2
answers
35k
views
Why is "folks" commonly used as a gender-neutral term for "people" when "people" is already gender-neutral?
Lately, I've been noticing a lot of people using folks (sometimes spelled folx) instead of people. This seems especially prevalent among left-leaning sources that pride themselves on inclusion.
Some ...
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0
answers
48
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"They is" or "They are" [duplicate]
As a non-native speaker I try to get myself to accept they as gender-neutral third person singular as this is new to me. To achieve this I would like to have a better understanding on the usage and ...
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2
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3k
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What would be a gender neutral form of address as a highschool teacher? (British English)
In the UK, it's very common for secondary school teachers to be referred to as one of the following:
Sir/Miss
Miss/Mrs/Mr Surname
This would be both when the students are talking about the teacher, ...
user274438
3
votes
2
answers
295
views
Do all “epicene” pronouns mean the same thing as one another?
There have been many proposed epicene or gender-neutral
pronouns
that have been proposed over the years and have received some level
of use. My question is: do all of them mean the same thing?
...
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votes
8
answers
4k
views
What is a gender neutral equivalent for the following phrase?
Sometimes I see the phrase
I'm not going to get my panties in a bunch [if such-and-so...]
which is an idiom for
I'm not going to get upset [if such-and-so...]
There are variants involving ...
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votes
1
answer
113
views
Gender-neutral equivalent of "to a man"
Is there a Gender-neutral equivalent of "to a man"?
I mean the expression "to a man" in the sense of "each and every one".
For example:
The skydivers, to a man, felt they had taken all ...
- 575
1
vote
1
answer
96
views
Looking for a certain gender-neutral word [duplicate]
This is going to be a bit tricky to ask correctly, so sorry for making you read long, carefully crafted sentences! Sorry if it seem like excess (and it kinda is, but better safe than sorry, as I don't ...
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1
vote
1
answer
168
views
Concord with gender-neutral "they" [duplicate]
I was wondering what the general take is on concord with they as a gender-neutral 3rd person singular pronoun. I assume there are no hard and fast rules here yet, seeing that this is a fairly new ...
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4
answers
9k
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Gender-neutral "Jane Doe" / "John Doe"
Is there a gender-neutral alternative to "Jane Doe" / "John Doe"?
I would like to provide an example of signed form, but how to avoid using gender when it comes to names? Is there some widely-used ...
- 121
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4
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2k
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What are the female and gender-neutral equivalents of ‘henpecked husband’
Inspired by this question, what are are the feminine and gender-neutral equivalents of a ‘henpecked husband’?
Would it be correct to say ‘cockpecked wife’ (even though that sounds dreadful) and ‘...
- 443
1
vote
2
answers
3k
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Gender Neutral Salutation /Honorific
In the context of addressing an unknown individual in an email/letter, how does one include persons belonging to the broad gender spectrum?
For instance, in binary terms Dear Mam/Sir was the norm for ...
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3
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8k
views
Is there a gender-neutral alternative to workmanlike suitable for use in legal context?
The word "workmanlike" and phrase "workmanlike manner" appear frequently in contract terms, but are obviously gendered. For example:
The services will be performed in a professional and workmanlike ...
0
votes
0
answers
127
views
Alternative to "grandfather" in an organizational context [duplicate]
In organizations sometimes we refer to the manager of a manager as the "grandfather".
For example "candidates for senior level positions must go through a grandfather's interview" meaning those ...
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2
answers
225
views
Can the epicene personal pronoun “they’ 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) ...
- 1,280
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2
answers
147
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
1
answer
74
views
Neglecting women in every field
Why do we say 'chairman' for men and 'chairperson' for women? Why don't we use 'chairperson' for both?
It's a neutral word a single word can used for both.
Also, why do we use 'man-made' ...
5
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Gender-neutral version of widow & widower?
Would it make more sense to use a third, different word, e.g. "spouse" instead of wife & husband, or use one of them, e.g. "actor" for actor & actress.
"Widow" seems like the obvious choice, ...
0
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Should an antecedent of "everyone" take "their" or "his" or "our" as its corresponding possessive pronoun? [duplicate]
I am still confused about how to use the word everyone. I have this sentence on a test:
Everyone wants to do their part.
Everyone wants to do his part.
Everyone wants to do our part.
...
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7
votes
0
answers
835
views
Earlier sources or identity of person who coined the term "neutrois"?
A lot of work I've been doing recently has been around the emergence of various gender identities. "Neutrois" recently came to my attention, with more information about it here:
Nonbinary ...
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