Professor Rick Bales Gender Neutral Language

There is a prevailing idea amongst those who oppose the concept of gender-neutral language that you have no right to be protected from being offended. That one cannot enforce guidelines on how others speak, act, or write, because to do so infringes on the concept of ‘free speech’. They argue that to try to enforce genderless language is just another way of coddling an already over-sensitive and naïve generation. Objectively speaking, they have a point. The idea of free speech inherently allows anyone to say whatever they want. But as Professor Rick Bales say in his article titled “Gender Neutral Language”, a part of a series called “Effective Legal Writing”, ‘gendered language wounds parochial and out-of-date’. (Bales 2) When we use male

But by using masculine pronouns to refer to all people, regardless of their gender, assumes that the average human being is a man. It is exhausting for those who are not cisgender men, the constant reminder that one is left out and is constantly unseen. And yes, we don’t really gain anything other than political correctness when we use terms like ‘humankind’ instead of ‘mankind’. Though the hope of those who advocate for gender neutral language is that by changing those pronouns and molding language to become more inclusive and gender-neutral, we as a society will become changed. It’s not such a far off idea – language is what lets us communicate and it is a part of every aspect of our lives. If we reform language to hold the values of tolerance, empathy, and inclusivity, won’t we as a society

While he recognizes that there are some people who care very much about the gendered language, as a man, he simply doesn’t care. Out of sheer laziness, he is content to offend countless people simply because he has no reason to. This is all too common in many issues: the person who gains nothing from change or reform sees no reason to advocate and take part of it. But in fact, it’s entirely possible to never refer to someone’s gender without making an effort to avoid doing