Gender binary: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:54, 9 December 2024

Revision as of 15:00, 9 December 2024

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=== Language ===

In English, some nouns (e.g., boy), honorific titles (e.g., Miss), occupational titles (e.g., actress), and [[English personal pronouns|personal pronouns]] (e.g., she, his) are gendered, and they fall into a male/female binary.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gustafsson Sendén |first1=Marie |last2=Bäck |first2=Emma A. |last3=Lindqvist |first3=Anna |date=2015 |title=Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=6 |page=893 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00893 |pmid=26191016 |pmc=4486751 |issn=1664-1078 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Personal pronouns in the English language are typically associated with either men ([[he/him]]) or women ([[she/her]]), which excludes situations in which the sex is unknown and also people who do not identify as a man or a woman.<ref name="Lab-2022a">{{Cite web |last=Lab |first=Purdue Writing |title=Gendered Pronouns & Singular "They" // Purdue Writing Lab |url=https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/pronouns/gendered_pronouns_and_singular_they.html |access-date=2 May 2022 |website=Purdue Writing Lab |language=en}}</ref> However, [[Gender neutrality in languages with gendered third-person pronouns|gender-neutral pronouns]], such as [[Singular they|singular ''they'']] pronouns (they/them) are sometimes used by nonbinary and gender nonconforming individuals as well as situations where the sex is unknown.<ref name="Lab-2022a"/><ref name="them.-2020">{{Cite web |date=22 May 2020 |title=Gender-Neutral Pronouns 101: Everything You've Always Wanted to Know |url=https://www.them.us/story/gender-neutral-pronouns-101-they-them-xe-xem |access-date=2 May 2022 |website=them. |language=en-US}}</ref> A 2019 study found that "close to 1 in 5 Americans personally know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns such as 'they' instead of 'he' or "'she'".<ref name="Worthen-2021" /><ref name="BBC News-2020">{{Cite news |date=19 February 2020 |title=Should your email say if you're he, she or they? |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51331571 |access-date=2 May 2022}}</ref> In addition, people may use [[neopronoun]]s in place of other personal pronouns.<ref name="them.-2020" /> Examples of neopronouns include [[wikt:xe#Pronoun|xe]]/[[wikt:xem#Pronoun|xem]], [[wikt:ze#Pronoun|ze]]/zim, and [[wikt:sie#Pronoun|sie]]/[[wikt:hir#Pronoun|hir]].<ref name="them.-2020" />

According to Hyde and colleagues, children raised within English-speaking (and other gendered-language) environments come to view gender as a binary category.<ref name="Hyde-2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Hyde |first1=Janet Shibley |last2=Bigler |first2=Rebecca S. |last3=Joel |first3=Daphna |last4=Tate |first4=Charlotte Chucky |last5=van Anders |first5=Sari M. |date=February 2019 |title=The future of sex and gender in psychology: Five challenges to the gender binary |journal=American Psychologist |volume=74 |issue=2 |pages=171–193 |doi=10.1037/amp0000307 |pmid=30024214 |issn=1935-990X |doi-access=free}}</ref> They state that for children who learn English as their primary language in the United States, adults' use of the gender binary to explicitly sort individuals (i.e. "boys" and "girls" bathrooms and sports teams), and not just the presence of gender markers, causes gender biases.<ref name="Hyde-2019" /> Those biases can appear in information processing, and can affect attitudes and behavior directed at those both inside and outside of the gender binary language system.<ref name="Keener-2023">Keener, Emily, and Kourtney Kotvas. "Beyond He and She: Does the Singular Use of 'They, Them, Their' Function Generically as Inclusive Pronouns for Cisgender Men and Women?" ''Gender Issues'', vol. 40, no. 1, Mar. 2023, pp. 23–43. ''EBSCOhost'', {{doi|10.1007/s12147-022-09297-8}}.</ref> An example of this would be the use of gendered language in job descriptions and advertisements: those who are excluded by the language used may not apply for the position, leading to a segregated field of work.<ref name="Keener-2023" /> For example, women could be systemically excluded from a workplace or career that exclusively uses the pronouns "he" to advertise new job openings.<ref name="Keener-2023" /> The exclusive use of "she" and "he" (binary pronouns) can also systemically exclude those who do not fit within the gender binary and may prefer gender neutral language.<ref name="Keener-2023" />