Sexist language

One aspect of institutional sexism that I wish the textbook had touched more on in chapter 12 is sexist language. At the high school I work at, I've discussed this topic at length with some of the English teachers I work with. Several of them have entire units based on recognizing and analyzing the meaning of sexist language and how to avoid using it. Phrases like "fight like a man", "you throw like a girl", and "grow a pair" are examples of this kind of sexist language; in each case, the masculine quality is seen as strong, resolute, and desirable and the feminine trait is weak, defective, or submissive.

There is a humorous inversion of this kind of sexist language popularized by sex advice columnist Dan Savage. He has mentioned a few times on his podcast and column at www.thestranger.com that insulting someone's toughness by calling them a "pussy" is not only sexist, it doesn't make logical sense either. Savage points out that vaginas are actually very tough especially when compared to male genitalia: they are self-cleaning, stretch to allow childbirth, and take a considerable pounding during male/female intercourse. Scrotums, on the other hand, are overly-sensitive, fragile, and weak; the slightest hit on a man's scrotum can incapacitate him as he keels over in pain. Therefore, Savage proposes that people should insult people's toughness by calling them "scrotum" instead of "pussy". In doing so, he has subverted the sexist patriarchal norm by making the masculine term synonymous with weak and the feminine term strong.

On a broader level, I think overcoming sexist language in our own daily use--and calling out when others around us use it--can go a long way in combating institutional sexism. Language is not only how we communicate to others, it helps form how we perceive the world in our minds. By eliminating insidiously sexist language from our everyday speech and thoughts, we'll create a new, more egalitarian way of perceiving the world.