171
votes
Accepted
Is there a gender neutral equivalent of “manspreading”?
Seat hog
Without having an example sentence, it's hard to suggest a perfect fit, but I would suggest "seat hog" or "seat hogging."
There's even a whole blog dedicated to posting ...
- 4,302
143
votes
How to degender "separate the men from the boys"?
In addition to Jacinto's answer, you can also avoid the human element altogether and use a phrase like:
Math teacher: "The ability to do proofs of this type is what separates the wheat from the ...
- 999
125
votes
Gender neutral version of housewife
As a native British English speaker, I would go with 'homemaker'. It seems like a really 'positive' term.
- 1,081
80
votes
Is there a gender neutral equivalent of “manspreading”?
To avoid the accusation of being biased and the ire of those who may be offended; a passenger who takes up too much room or invades their co-passenger's space could be termed a
space hog
‘Worse, ...
- 89.9k
77
votes
How to degender "separate the men from the boys"?
I like the pair grown ups/kids or grown ups/children. Here’s an example from Oxford Learner’s Dictionary (go to “noun” and click on “More examples sentences”; emphasis mine):
‘In a festival where ...
- 10.2k
62
votes
Proper way to address a very small group that includes both sexes
I have replaced "guys" and "you guys" with "everyone" in my day-to-day speech:
Hey, everyone, how's it going?
What is everyone up to this weekend?
Good morning, everyone. Today we are ...
- 1,176
62
votes
Is there another way to say "man-in-the-middle" attack in reference to technical security breach that is not gendered?
What is the best way to use this terminology and be gender neutral while maintaining communication efficiency?
I would suggest that your original term, "man-in-the-middle (attack)", remains ...
- 931
60
votes
Proper way to address a very small group that includes both sexes
You could try folks
Folks is many a politicians’ favored term for people. It’s class-neutral and gender-neutral. In a country that uses y’all, you guys, youse, and yinz, it is confidently American, ...
- 43k
47
votes
Accepted
Is "dude" becoming gender neutral?
It is common in my experience (woman in US, 26, liberal hippie type) for groups of women to be called "dudes" or "guys" by both men and other women, but not for individual women to be called a "dude" ...
- 404
47
votes
How to degender "separate the men from the boys"?
You could drop the particular idiom of "separating A from B" and wind up very close with testing their mettle:
The ability to do proofs of this type is how we test the mettle of students in this ...
- 711
46
votes
Accepted
Gender neutral version of housewife
I don't know about British English, but a gender-neutral expression is stay-at-home spouse/partner.
"But if you have one breadwinner and a stay-at-home spouse, you will
probably pay less in taxes."
...
- 2,448
38
votes
Is there a gender neutral equivalent of “manspreading”?
sprawl
[sprawl]
verb (used without object)
1) to be stretched or spread out in an unnatural or ungraceful manner:
Source: Dictionary.com
Example 1
”I suppose only a man can man-...
- 5,222
36
votes
Is there another way to say "man-in-the-middle" attack in reference to technical security breach that is not gendered?
There are several gender-neutral names for a MITM attack¹:
• monster-in-the-middle
Since 1989, experts have been arguing that Internet security requires cryptographic protocols, ensuring security
...
- 1,596
34
votes
Proper way to address a very small group that includes both sexes
Everyone and all work well here for me. I frequently have to write such emails for a weekly social gathering, and both have served me well.
Hey, all!
Good morning all!
Hey everyone!
Good morning, ...
- 2,907
28
votes
Is there another way to say "man-in-the-middle" attack in reference to technical security breach that is not gendered?
I really think "person-in-the-middle" is the only option which satisfies both your requirements. Replacing "man" by "person" is a very standard way to avoid terms which ...
- 2,062
26
votes
How to degender "separate the men from the boys"?
"It is time to separate the masters from the apprentices" might work. Although it is probably not a common phrase, it does imply a growth in your learning level and skill while being gender neutral.
...
- 3,881
25
votes
Man-hour vs. person-hour? Is the former now considered politically incorrect?
Here is a Google Ngram chart that tracks the frequency of occurrence of "man hours" (blue line) versus "person hours" (red line) in the Google Books database over the years 1900–2008:
Several things ...
- 161k
23
votes
Is "dude" becoming gender neutral?
Yes.
I've been calling female friends in the UK "dude" for years and nobody's yet found it to be unusual.
- 3,919
23
votes
Gender neutral version of housewife
I'm a fan of neologism when the necessity strikes, and while "housekeeper" is plausible, it smacks of someone hired for the task, while houseperson just sounds stale. I propose "housespouse."
It ...
- 578
23
votes
How to degender "separate the men from the boys"?
The ability to do proofs separates the professionals from the amateurs.
The terms have same meaning as in this quote (which is sometimes attributed to Julie Andrews) :
Amateurs practice until they ...
- 22.5k
23
votes
Is -ist a gender-neutral ending?
Yes, these are gender-neutral. Check the definitions for a few of the professions ending in -ist, and there won't be any indication of gender:
dentist: a person qualified to treat the diseases and ...
- 7,926
22
votes
Proper way to address a very small group that includes both sexes
Plumbing the arcane depths of the English language, I proffer hello:
Used as a greeting or to begin a telephone conversation
I have studied critical theory at post-graduate level and cannot think ...
- 3,637
17
votes
Is there a gender neutral equivalent of “manspreading”?
Legs akimbo: knees bent and protruding from the trunk.
a tailor sitting with legs akimbo
- 3,245
16
votes
Is "hangman" a gender neutral term?
No gender-neutral alternative of the same specificity seems to be in common use
As indicated by the other comments and MetaEd's answer, there does not seem to be any well-established alternative term ...
- 79.1k
15
votes
Accepted
Pronunciation of "xe" and "xyr"
Xe is more like /zi/ as it seems. Same with xyr.
References:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xyr
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xe
- 313
15
votes
Is there a gender neutral equivalent of “manspreading”?
No.
While there are words that carry the meaning of sitting in a way that takes up too much space, an essential part of the meaning of manspreading is the connection to a culture of male entitlement ...
14
votes
Accepted
“Mx” the gender-neutral honorific
In the UK it is almost universally an option to use either 'Mx' or no honorific. Most people will miss this, (no pun intended) because they wouldn't ask about it, however, only once in the last 2 ...
- 278
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