«Po demolish gender stereotypes, we need to start from the use of non-sexist language, especially among the new generations»: so Martina Albini of the Centro Studi WeWorldpresents the survey Words of parity – how to counter sexism in language to break down gender stereotypes that the organization presents on the occasion of 8 March. «We started from a reflection on how we name women in the family, in society, in the workplace. Language and reality shape each otherand we realized that many stereotypes still exist in the narrative».
A girl who attends the WeWorld center in Aversa. Photo Ariadne Arcara.
WeWorld, an organization that has been committed to defending the rights of women and children around the world for 50 years, held a survey among the children and teenagers who attend its educational centresand asked them simple questions. The answers are quite significant.
“The first question was about the ‘universal masculine’, says Albini. «If you enter a room where there is a majority of girls, how do you greet? Well, 1 out of 3 says “Hello everyone”, even if there are fewer males than females. In particular, the universal masculine is preferred by 43 percent of boys, much less by girls. A little girl struck me: she told us that she would have preferred to say “hello to all”, but she was not used to it ».
Other questions were about jobs for boys and girls: the profession that is most associated with men, in 64% of cases, is that of firefighter. Almost the same percentage, but in this case associated with the female sex, for the figure of the teacher. The question about the astronaut profession is interesting: 20 percent of girls and young women associate it only with women. Will it be thanks to Samantha Cristoforetti?
Why does a smart woman “have balls”?
As for the question: “when you talk about a woman and her work, do you use the feminine form, such as an engineer, a lawyer?” 17% answered never, 47 sometimes. The use is evidently still rare. “As for what we call ‘benevolent sexism,’ we asked how would you define a woman capable at her job. Well, 70% define her as competent, but there is still a 21 who prefer the expression “woman with balls”, as if a smart woman must necessarily have masculine attributes», continues Albini. «As for the definition of a man who takes care of the children and the house, only 9% call him a mammo, the rest, fortunately, dad. And this heartened us, because it means that the father figure has a dignity of him ».
Tommaso, 20, from the WeWorld center in Milan. Photo Rocco Rorandelli.
To define women in three words, the girls have focused on strength, courage, intelligence. Only girls aged 8-10 associated the word with the mother image. Among males, on the other hand, there are also those who have defined women as a category “to be protected” and “multitasking”. Men, on the other hand, are associated with work, sports, strength. Finally, it emerges that 18% never talk about gender equality at school, 61 percent only sometimes. “Certainly the new generations are exposed to more positive models of fatherhood,” comments Albini. «But when we ask about the characteristics of the two sexes, we fall back into stereotypes, especially among males. Little girls seem to have extra tools, more spaces for discussion have been created between them. We believe that we must start from schools and we propose to establish compulsory curricular paths for gender equality education, in the context of citizenship education».
Weworld’s 7 tips for a non-sexist language
While waiting for this to happen, here are 7 tips on the non-sexist use of the Italian language, which WeWorld takes from the recommendations of linguist Alma Sabatini:
1 Avoid using the word “man” “men” in a universal sense. Better “person”, “people”.
2 In man/woman couples, avoid always giving precedence to the masculine form. Instead of “brothers and sisters”, use “sisters and brothers”
3 Avoid the masculine past participle to refer to a set of predominantly feminine nouns
4 Avoid referring to the woman using only her first name
5 Do not use the masculine for professions and charges when the feminine form exists. better administrator than administrator, and adviser instead of adviser
6 Do not use the masculine form and the suffix -essa for offices and professions for which there is the regular feminine form or the one with the suffix in -a (senator, lawyer, magistrate, notary)
7 Avoid using epicene nouns (which have the same masculine and feminine meaning) in the masculine and with masculine articles. Not “the president” but “the president”.
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