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Prescribed Passivity: The Language Of Sexism, Julia Penelope

Department of English: Faculty Publications

The recent controversy concerning the use and reference of so-called "generics" in the English language reveals the extent, if not the nature, of the political investment at stake in preserving the myth of generalized reference. Before I offer my data and observations regarding this myth, I wou1d like to emphasize that the arguments supporting generics, especially man, men and mankind, are not substantive, but political, and those who would like to maintain the use of masculine nouns as general references are relying on popular misconceptions, not linguistic data. Of course, if linguistic history provides clues to the outcome of this …