Editing Sexism (section)

=== Sexism in languages other than English ===

[[Romanic languages]] such as [[French language|French]]<ref name="Sayare 2012">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/world/europe/france-drops-mademoiselle-from-official-use.html |title=France Drops 'Mademoiselle' From Official Use |last=Sayare |first=Scott |date=February 22, 2012 |work=The New York Times |access-date=August 26, 2019 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and [[Spanish language|Spanish]]<ref name="Mexico Advisesd Workers">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-12843948 |title=Mexico advises workers on sexist language |access-date=18 Feb 2024 |work=BBC News |date=March 23, 2011}}</ref> may be seen as reinforcing sexism, in that the masculine form is the default. The word "[[wikt:mademoiselle|mademoiselle]]", meaning "[[miss]]", was declared banished from French administrative forms in 2012 by Prime Minister [[François Fillon]].<ref name="Sayare 2012"/> Current pressure calls for the use of the masculine plural pronoun as the default in a mixed-sex group to change.<ref>{{cite journal |jstor=40545648 |title=Attacking a Legacy of Sexist Grammar in the French Class: A Modest Beginning |first=Culley Jane |last=Carson |date=1 January 1993 |journal=Feminist Teacher |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=34–36}}</ref> As for Spanish, Mexico's Ministry of the Interior published a guide on how to reduce the use of sexist language.<ref name="Mexico Advisesd Workers"/>

[[German language|German]] speakers have also raised questions about how sexism intersects with grammar.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nandi |first=Jacinta |url=http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate-uk/2011/03/05/grappling-with-language-sexism/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307092229/http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate-uk/2011/03/05/grappling-with-language-sexism/ |archive-date=March 7, 2011 |title=Grappling with language sexism |publisher=blogs.reuters.com |date=March 5, 2011 |access-date=March 31, 2015}}</ref> The German language is heavily inflected for gender, number, and case; nearly all nouns denoting the occupations or statuses of human beings are gender-differentiated. For more gender-neutral constructions, gerund nouns are sometimes used instead, as this eliminates the grammatical gender distinction in the plural, and significantly reduces it in the singular. For example, instead of ''die Studenten'' ("the men students") or ''die Studentinnen'' ("the women students"), one writes ''die Studierenden'' ("the [people who are] studying").<ref>{{cite news |last=Osel |first=Johann |date=February 18, 2015 |title=Gleichberechtigung im Studium: Studenten, äh, Studierende |language=de |newspaper=Sueddeutsche.de |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bildung/gleichberechtigung-im-studium-studenten-aeh-aeh-studierende-1.2355340}}</ref> However, this approach introduces an element of ambiguity, because gerund nouns more precisely denote one currently engaged in the activity, rather than one who routinely engages in it as their primary occupation.<ref>Osel, ibid.</ref>

In [[Chinese language|Chinese]], some writers have pointed to sexism inherent in the structure of written characters. For example, the character for man is linked to those for positive qualities like courage and effect while the character for wife is composed of a female part and a broom, considered of low worth.<ref>{{cite journal |jstor=4316075 |title=Sexism in the Chinese Language |first=Dali |last=Tan |date=1 January 1990 |journal=[[NWSA Journal]] |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=635–639}}</ref>