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Students ought to be cautious when they choose the first noun. "A nurse" was traditionally treated as
feminine, to indicate a man doing this kind of job "a male nurse" should be used. "Engineer" was
traditionally meant as masculine, "a woman engineer" is used for a lady. "Boyfriend," "girlfriend" have
specific connotations.
Lower animals do not differ from inanimate nouns in terms of gender and will be referred to as "it." If
required, the sex differences can be indicated by certain gender markers: she-goat, male frog, he-
pheasant.
The speech device enabling us to present lifeless things as living beings is called personification. It is
also called "gender of animation." Personification gives nonhuman things the qualities, abilities, or
emotions of people. Personification also uses abstract ideas; these abstract ideas are often capitalized.
How rarely Reason guides the stubborn choice
Samuel Johnson
… earth took him to her stony care.
W.B. Yeats
In fairy tales animals, fish and birds can be associated with any gender required by the sense. The
extracts below are a good illustration of references of names of birds to different genders.
One night there flew over the city a little Swallow. His friends had gone away to Egypt six weeks
before, but he stayed behind for
he was in love with the most beautiful Reed. He had never met her early
in the spring as he was flying down the river after a big yellow moth, and had been so attracted by her
slender waist that he had stopped to talk to her.
0. Wilde. The Happy Prince.
The parrot. Polynesia, was sitting in the window looking out at the rain and'singing a Sailor-song to
herself . She stopped singing and started to listen
Hugh Lofting. The Story of Doctor Dolittle
But one day when the Princess September went to say good morning to her parrot she found it lying
dead at the bottom of its gold cage.
W. S. Maugham. Princess September
September felt her heart go thump, thump against her chest, and she made up her mind to take no more
risks She put her hand and took hold of the bird. This he was quite used to, she liked feeling his heart go
pit-a-pat, so fast, in the hollow of her hand, and I think he liked the soft warmth of her little hand
W. S. Maugham. Princess September
People object to words for occupations and professions that are marked to indicate sex differences
since they think that men and women are not treated in the same way.
Speech and writing that make unnecessary distinctions based on sex are called sexist language. The
word "Mr" does not show whether or not a man is married whereas "Mrs" is used for a married woman
and "Miss" for a single woman making the distinction of a woman's social position. The term "Ms" was
suggested as a compromise.
"He," "him," "his" can refer to a male or a female or to someone whose sex is unknown
The child has lost his toy.
The student paid his subscription fee.
To avoid the use of the masculine marker for someone who may be a female, an article or another
determiner can be used instead.
The child has lost the toy.
The student paid that subscription fee.
Sometimes either "he/she" or "his/her" is used.
Every student has to pay his/her subscription fee.
Or: All student fees have to be paid.