Making the English Language Gender Neutral

Casey Miller and Kate Swift, the authors of “Who’s in Charge of the English Language,” argue that the common use of sexist words and phrases in the English language is everywhere, yet overlooked by many. The examples used throughout this article put a new perspective on the use of everyday words that many people do not even think about.

In the beginning of the article, Miller and Swift provide an example to show how men have been considered dominant over women since the beginning of mankind. They explain that Adam was created first, who then got to name Eve, implying that men have a kind of power that women do not. (Adam being able to name Eve rather than the other way around).

Miller and Swift also include Webster’s Dictionary definitions of the words “manly” and “womanly” as examples of how the world views each gender, and the gender roles. The definition of manly is full of many great qualities such as “bold”, while the definition of womanly has no such qualities, but instead says things such as women talk too much.

The authors then use another example with the words “hero” and “heroine” to back up their argument. They explain that the word hero is used not only as the term for a male hero, but as the generic term for a hero itself. Heroine is its own separate word, and therefore gets overlooked. Miller and Swift argue that children are growing up learning the English language, which in turn, is causing girls to subconsciously believe that they are less dominant than men.

Casey Miller and Kate Swift do a good job of presenting this issue to people who are less aware of the situation than they are. Their many examples in the article bring light to a problem that is commonly overlooked. I think that the first step in fixing this particular flaw is to make people realize that the use of certain words and phrases in our language are a legitimate part of sexism in our society, whether we know we are doing it or not. It is only when people become aware of what they are doing, that they can have the chance to correct it.