http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/poll/2013/jul/05/gender-biased-language-law-poll
The state of Washington in America has taken gender language bias to an extreme level. In an attempt to get rid of gender bias in language, 40'000 words have been changed in order to neutralize it. And they're not alone.. Washington is the 4th state to make these progressive changes and a bill has even be signed to implement the changes. Such words that have been changed include..
- Fisherman - Fisher
- Penmanship - handwriting
- Freshman - First-year student
- Clergyman - Clergy
- Journeyman Plumber - Journey-level Plumber
- His - His and Hers
Some words such as 'Manwhole cover' cannot be changed as they don't have an easy replacement. "Words matter," Liz Watson, a National Women's Law Center senior adviser said "This is important in changing hearts and minds."
And it's not just America. France has recently banned the term "mademoiselle" from documents as the Gallic term means 'miss' and French officials thought it made women acknowledge their marital status.
These few laws and orders highlight the importance language and gender has on the influence of the public's behaviour. The fact that it has been taken to this extreme means that it is currently an important topic and even interpreted as an issue by some.
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