Gender expressions across languages

As someone who studies Chinese, English, and French simultaneously, I have become increasingly sensitive to the ways of phrasing and communicating in different languages. Specifically, when it comes to referring to genders, these disparities become apparent, inviting me to analyze and compare.

Starting with French, a Romance language, I am quite frustrated by the fact that nouns are classified as masculine or feminine. For instance, the weekend (le week-end) uses the masculine article “le,” while the week (la semaine) uses the feminine article “la.” This annoys me partly due to the difficulty in memorizing them, and partly due to the stereotypes of gender roles, particularly for job titles. For instance, the mayor (le maire), the lawyer (l’avocat), and the professor (le professeur) all use the masculine article “le,” implying a lack of gender equality in these fields. Although modern-day feminists have argued for changes, most words simply change from “the mayor” to “madam mayor” (“le maire” to “madame le maire”). Adding “madame” in front of “mayor” seems to suggest that women in those positions are exceptions, while men in those jobs are the norm. This is similar to the Chinese practice of particularly mentioning “female” doctors or “female” scientists whenever they appear in news reports.

Interestingly, in classical Chinese, there were no distinctions between gender pronouns, with a person universally referred to as “他,” a character with a single-person radical (单人旁). However, with the introduction of foreign literature, translators had to distinguish between the pronouns “he” and “she.” Instead of inventing new characters for both, they used the existing “他” for males and introduced a new character with a female-person radical (“她”) for the pronoun “she,” relegating women to a less important, secondary status. This gender inequality becomes more apparent when referring to a mixed-gender group.

I still recall how the boys in my primary school cheered and jeered in class when the teacher instructed us to use the single-person radical “他们” rather than the female-person radical “她们.” It seemed as though the boys had won a battle between the two genders, which, indeed, they have. Their privilege is not only reflected in their future family status, easier acceptance and ascent in the workplace, but is also evident in our languages. French follows a similar pattern to Chinese, utilizing “ils” (masculine “they”) instead of “elles” (feminine “they”) when talking about people. English offers us a different way of speaking. In situations like these, we can use the neutral pronoun “they,” which resolves any disputes concerning equality.

While fully acknowledging that each language has its own unique charm and beauty, I hope that in the future, languages will evolve in a way toward gender equality and mutual respect for both sexes.