In my years doing my own work in queer, gender, and women’s studies, as well as working with editing and coaching clients in academic and nonfiction writing, the question of how to use gendered and gender-inclusive language comes up fairly often.
My goal here is not to offer some prescriptive guide, but to talk through a few scenarios that I see fairly often and to offer some guidance and perspective on how one might proceed. Contrary to popular discourse, there’s no “correct” or most accurate way to use gender-inclusive language in academic writing. But what I often see are scholars who are trying so hard to get the terminology “right” that they lose focus on what really matters: that is, clarity, precision, and respect for all parties involved.
Below, I’ve listed a few questions I’ve seen come up, and how I suggest addressing them. Please note that is NOT a “gender terminology 101” post, and is meant for scholars who are already working in gender, queer, or a related area of study.
- Finding pronouns for quoted or referenced scholars
Unless you’re someone’s personal friend (and even then), you are unlikely to know how they identify deep in their heart of hearts. Thankfully, it isn’t actually necessary to know how someone identifies—as scholars, we only need to know what pronouns an individual uses professionally in order to reference them accurately and respectfully.
When in doubt, I suggest googling the individual and looking for a bio that they are likely to have written themselves. It’s not uncommon for conference organizers, interviewers, etc. to get pronouns wrong, even if someone is very open about the pronouns they use. That’s why I suggest looking for a bio: a faculty website, a bio in a journal article, in their book, or something similar that they are likely to have written themselves. However they refer to themselves publicly in a professional context is one way to gauge how they would prefer to be addressed.
2. Gender presentation vs gender identity vs social gender
This topic is a little squishier, and harder to give “tips” on without knowing the exact scenario. But another issue that I’ve seen come up is how to refer to a group of people in one’s work when that group may not share the same gender identity. For example, if one is conducting a study on women’s culture, that study may include individuals who are socially perceived and treated as “woman” but do not personally identify that way.
Another example would be working in cultures that do not conceive of gender in the same way as in Euro-American/English language contexts. Crossdressing and being transgender, for example, are two different things— dressing in a way that isn’t standard for your perceived gender vs. identifying as a gender different from the one you were assigned at birth (and this still is a very Anglo/Euro definition).
With all of these topics, it is VERY easy to slide into the minutiae of each identity marker and descriptor. The primary thing to consider is that gender is, in essence, social, and each social context will conceive of gender slightly (or very) differently.
When in doubt, I suggest remaining broad and explaining your rationale rather than trying to parse how exactly a person or a group might collectively identify. The primary question is always: “What exactly am I trying to say, and why?”
As with the issue of finding pronouns for secondary citations, we will never know the inner workings of each individual, nor is that relevant or appropriate to what we are trying to do in our work (the vast, vast majority of the time).
Instead, think about why whatever term you’re using is necessary to the point that you’re trying to make. Is it important that readers know about the presence of women, transgender people, etc. in a particular place or group? Why? Would the word “gender-nonconforming” be more accurate than “transgender” (to use the above example)? Is it necessary to specify gender or gender presentation at all? Explaining your rationale (if necessary) is also always helpful.
When I’m working with a client I’m always trying to see the big picture. Language doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and neither do people. Instead of looking for the correct word, focus more on the right one for the particular scenario you’re trying to describe. As is the case for most complex writing scenarios: be consistent, be precise, and let your primary point lead the way, and the rest will follow.