For some time I have noticed that when I write on the blog about people in general, there are a lot of cases where I write about "the person", "(s)he", "him / her" and "his / her". With the primary result that the text becomes quite unreadable.
This, I have decided, is going to end. In future, people in general will as a rule be described as of female gender - unless, of course, they are people who are indispensable male. There could be readers who think this is somehow sexist. It should in no way be perceived in this way. It is merely an expression of what appears to be a common reaction in our culture, based on its patriarchal foundation: it is much easier to get a reader who reads about "something she does" to think that "it might as well have been 'he'", than vice versa.
It will take some time before I can do this consistently - but now, at least, I have at least formulated and justified my intention.
(Translated from "Noget om køn")
Showing posts with label pronouns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pronouns. Show all posts
Friday, October 06, 2017
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Who are we?
The headline became a bit more catchy than it ought to have been - it should rather have been "Who are 'we'?", as it is a question of correct language rather than of actual identity, I want to touch upon. But the headline still reflects the almost existential doubt that caused it in the first place.
I think most people have experienced it: standing in a situation where someone presents a message to them, repeatedly using the word "we" in the flow of words.
And then the uncomfortable doubt rises: who are "we" after all?
Could it be everyone assembled?
Could it - as it is often heard in a work context - be the entire company? the entire department? the entire company and its partners? Or maybe just the person talking and the person listening? Not to mention the really uncomfortable situations where the listener has to ask herself the question "Who are 'you'?" - because the listener does not feel included in the "we" at all.
Some might find that if people can ask this type of question, it is because they do not get the big picture. But communication problems should be resolved just as must by adjustments in the speaker as by adjustments in the listener.
(Translated from Hvem er vi?, originally published February 13, 2014)
I think most people have experienced it: standing in a situation where someone presents a message to them, repeatedly using the word "we" in the flow of words.
And then the uncomfortable doubt rises: who are "we" after all?
Could it be everyone assembled?
Could it - as it is often heard in a work context - be the entire company? the entire department? the entire company and its partners? Or maybe just the person talking and the person listening? Not to mention the really uncomfortable situations where the listener has to ask herself the question "Who are 'you'?" - because the listener does not feel included in the "we" at all.
Some might find that if people can ask this type of question, it is because they do not get the big picture. But communication problems should be resolved just as must by adjustments in the speaker as by adjustments in the listener.
(Translated from Hvem er vi?, originally published February 13, 2014)
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