Gendered Language

Many languages around the world have gendered uses for different words. In the Spanish language, for example, many words have gendered endings ("-a" for feminine and "-o" for masculine). This idea does not literally translate to the english language, however there are words that are meant for certain genders. One example of this could be the derogatory word "bitch" as this word was originally mean to identify a female dog, wolf, fox, or otter, but has come to refer to a woman with whom the speaker has a problem with. As the word progressed, it became a method of comparing men to unpleasant women, hence the phrase "dude you are being a bitch." While the man being referenced is not actually an unpleasant woman, nor is he a female otter, the english language has a unique way of comparing things in such a way that they appear analogous. In the same sense, there are words that people use in the english language to identify men, mostly in derogatory fashion. In example, one would refer to a rude man as a "dick" or an "asshole" but we rarely think women should hold the same title. While all women possess rectums (and some also have penises), we wouldn't think to call a woman any of those things right off the bat. It leads one to wonder if words will begin to become gender neutral as the percentage of gender fluidity in the population increases. Perhaps in the future men will begin to receive insults that were previously meant for women and vice versa. In the future, men will be referred to as "whores" and "bitches" and women will be referred to as "faggots" or "dicks". Although the English language is not set up to support literally gendered words like other languages, the socio-cultural norms predisposed by our interactions, emotions, and instincts lead us to think otherwise. Unfortunately, referring to somebody as a word meant for the other gender is often an insult. This means that acting as the opposite gender is viewed negatively in our society. While it is improbable that insulting each other will help us achieve gender acceptance in society, the idea of no longer labeling genders for their negative qualities will allow us to see each other for our positive qualities rather than the negative.