Gender-Neutral Ethos Popping Up in Journalism And Schools
Two major newspapers have used, or are using, gender neutral terms to describe certain people or situations. The Washington Post announced recently some style changes, including the use of “they” and “their” as gender-neutral singular pronouns.
Here’s Post copy editor Bill Walsh explaining his decision:
What finally pushed me from acceptance to action on gender-neutral pronouns was the increasing visibility of gender-neutral people. The Post has run at least one profile of a person who identifies as neither male nor female and specifically requests they and the like instead of he or she. Trans and genderqueer awareness will raise difficult questions down the road, with some people requesting newly invented or even individually made-up pronouns.
The New York Times recently ran a story referring to a person with the courtesy title of Mx., though a Times editor says that this was a one-time use and not an adoption of a new style. Here’s how it appeared in the paper:
“Are we anarchist?” Senia Hardwick asked. “Technically, yes.” Mx. Hardwick, 27, who prefers not to be assigned a gender — and also insists on the gender-neutral Mx. in place of Ms. or Mr. — is a staff member at Bluestockings, a bookshop and activist center at 172 Allen Street on the Lower East Side. Mx. Hardwick was explaining that the ethos of Bluestockings, which is run by a collective of volunteers, is difficult to classify. But if you must: “Anarchist is O.K.”
Some schools are also starting to conform to gender neutrality. Miraloma Elementary School in San Francisco created a few gender-neutral restrooms to accommodate about eight students who don’t identify with traditional gender norms, according to Today:
"You want to make sure every kid feels safe and secure and happy,'' Miraloma Elementary PTA president Ellen Shatz told Joe Fryer on Today Friday. "So I would hope this is the wave of the future."
The change has only been made for bathrooms used by students in kindergarten and first grade, where the bathroom has a single stall that can only be used by one kid at a time.
There’s also a preschool in Sweden that’s created gender neutral bathrooms. But they’ve taken it a step further. According to the BBC, the school’s books don’t contain traditional gender examples, and they toys are not segregated. The dolls and trucks lie side-by-side, encouraging children to pick what lures them, rather than what they’re expected to pick.
Critics have pointed out that this might be confusing to children, especially at a young age. Supporters posit that they’re not arguing against the biological gender, or sex, of each child, but rather the sociological idea of gender, and the expectations that come along with it.
Sweden has been on the forefront of gender-neutral issues. They even include this idea in its national curriculum:
Swedish pre-school emphasizes the importance of play in a child’s development, with a curriculum aiming to ensure children’s individual needs and interests. Gender-aware education is increasingly common, striving to provide children with the same opportunities in life regardless of gender.
This emerging topic comes with a lot of unexplored areas. Could students take advantage of gender-neutral bathrooms? Could it lead to sexual assaults, or harassment? Many colleges have created gender-neutral dorms, and I’ve blogged about this before.
A change of this magnitude would take generations to take shape in any meaningful way. In many ways it makes sense -- girls are indoctrinated to conform, to be demure, to be proper, while boys are encouraged to be rowdy and dominant. This carries on into adulthood. Lots to discuss here, and I look forward to seeing how it unfolds, and how researchers dig into all the ins and outs of such a complex and deeply-rooted social phenomenon.
(Creative Commons image via Flickr.com)