In Defense of People and Language: A critical analysis essay
Gender equality is a very hot topic these days as women demand equal rights in the workplace and are even running for President. This fight for equality can even be seen in the way we speak and write. Cyra McFadden, the author of “In Defense of Gender”, writes about how the English language is increasingly becoming gender neutral in an attempt to be sexually unbiased toward women. However, the overuse of gender neutral terms is quite comical. To write and speak an already complicated language in a consistently unbiased way is, if not impossible, futile. Neither side of this debate wins and can ultimately lead to separation of people themselves. Cyra McFadden 's theme in her article of how the increasing use of gender neutrality or sexually unbiased language in writing or speech is ridiculously futile and severs relationships between people is effectively proven because of the humor, difficulty with consistency or how it does not work all of the time to include all groups of people, and it …show more content…
Trying to be sexually unbiased or politically correct one hundred percent of the time is too much and even ridiculous at times. Just like Cyra McFadden (1981) says, writing English this way is “distracting as a cloud of gnats.” Speaking English this way, McFadden compares it to the “Coneheads” from “Saturday Night Live.” (1981) Not many people will want to read writing that is that distracting or listen to someone talking in such a robotic and unemotional way. And, please, do not even start uttering the “slash” between “he” and “she”! This will just make it “sound like a replay of the Manson killings.” (McFadden, 1981) Always using “he/she” or the “person” suffix may be politically correct but can ruin a perfectly good story or speech. McFadden does an excellent job in showing the humor in
Gender equality is a very hot topic these days as women demand equal rights in the workplace and are even running for President. This fight for equality can even be seen in the way we speak and write. Cyra McFadden, the author of “In Defense of Gender”, writes about how the English language is increasingly becoming gender neutral in an attempt to be sexually unbiased toward women. However, the overuse of gender neutral terms is quite comical. To write and speak an already complicated language in a consistently unbiased way is, if not impossible, futile. Neither side of this debate wins and can ultimately lead to separation of people themselves. Cyra McFadden 's theme in her article of how the increasing use of gender neutrality or sexually unbiased language in writing or speech is ridiculously futile and severs relationships between people is effectively proven because of the humor, difficulty with consistency or how it does not work all of the time to include all groups of people, and it …show more content…
Trying to be sexually unbiased or politically correct one hundred percent of the time is too much and even ridiculous at times. Just like Cyra McFadden (1981) says, writing English this way is “distracting as a cloud of gnats.” Speaking English this way, McFadden compares it to the “Coneheads” from “Saturday Night Live.” (1981) Not many people will want to read writing that is that distracting or listen to someone talking in such a robotic and unemotional way. And, please, do not even start uttering the “slash” between “he” and “she”! This will just make it “sound like a replay of the Manson killings.” (McFadden, 1981) Always using “he/she” or the “person” suffix may be politically correct but can ruin a perfectly good story or speech. McFadden does an excellent job in showing the humor in