Speaking to all - Tip-off

Parks & Recreation, Nov, 2002

Words are so important in any people-related business, and they affect the everyday behavior of all of us who support recreation and parks.

People often say, "When I use the pronoun `he,' I mean everyone--girls and boys or men and women." Some of us can probably remember learning in our high school English classes that the appropriate singular pronoun was always "he." But words aren't just words. Our mental reality (or words) helps us to construct our world. The Equity Institute notes that using the words "man," "he" or "guys" to refer to men and women doesn't describe our world accurately.

The impact that language has on a culture is overwhelming. It dictates our values, attitudes, opinions, beliefs and, most significantly, our behavior. There's a close relationship between language and its effect on self-awareness, self-concept, self-identity and self-esteem. What makes gender-exclusive language so insidious is that it's so widely used and generally accepted. People don't see it, they don't hear it and they don't even notice it. But if we truly believe in and desire equality and equity for all individuals in our culture, then our language must reflect our beliefs and desires. Make language neutral and inclusive, not value-laden and exclusive. There's no better place to do this than in a recreation or park setting, where people go voluntarily during their free time to participate in something they truly enjoy.

In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to the use of gender-neutral language. It has become common to find most modern textbooks using "he/she" or "him or her," or having one paragraph which uses the feminine pronoun and the next paragraph which uses the masculine pronoun. As these examples show, it's quite easy to change gender-specific words to make them inclusive. Some argue that it's cumbersome and it sounds funny. But the issue is similar to correcting a swimming or golf stroke--it takes concentration to change the old form to the new form, but once it's done, the old way will feel old and the new way the norm.

To make this change a little easier, NRPA's Women, Minorities and Cultural Diversity Committee suggests starting with the alternative words in the chart below.

A final thought: The Equity Institute notes that the common term "rule of thumb" is from an old English law that stated that a man couldn't use a stick any wider than his thumb to beat a woman. Maybe the word "guideline" or "rule" might serve us better. Just remembering the origin of this term may give reason to stop and consider the words we are using, and whether they accurately express what we've intended.

Instead of.....                   Use....

Policeman                         Police officer
Fireman                           Firefighter
Manning the booth                 Staffing the booth
Man-hours                         Person-hours
Mankind                           Humanity, humankind, folks, people
Grandfathering, grandmothering    Grandparenting
Chairman                          Chair
Workman's compensation            Worker's compensation
Alumni                            Alumns
Spokesman                         Spokesperson
Guys                              People, folks

For more information on this topic, see the Fifth Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (page 66), The Language of Oppression by Haig Bosmajian, and articles related to "The Chilly Classroom Climate" by Drs. David and Myra Sadker.