In recent anti-sexist language initiatives at some Australian universities, some students have been deducted in their papers using gender language. (photo by the Daily Telegraph)
In recent anti-sexist language initiatives at some Australian universities, some students have been deducted for using "mankind", "he" and "she" in their papers, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Some Australian universities have officially banned students or employees from using similar terms such as "manpower" `and "workmanship because they contain" man "and may be considered sexist. These universities advise students to use gender-neutral languages.
The University of Sydney (University of Sydney) requires students to use "non-discriminatory language" in papers, assignments and speeches, even if it can lead to grammatical errors in sentences.
The school`s gender and culture research department, (Department of Gender and Cultural Studies), forbids the use of "he" to refer to a person in general.
In recent anti-sexist language initiatives at some Australian universities, some students have been deducted in their papers using gender language. (photo by the Daily Telegraph)
The department said in its guidelines that the use of sexist language had become unacceptable in recent years and that it was therefore important for students not to use one or more of them in their writing.
The department recommends the use of "they" in place of "he" or "she". For example, "If a student wants their results early, they should go to the student centre. (if students want to know their grades as soon as possible, they can consult at the Student Center.) "
The department said that despite grammatical errors in the sentence, it is common to use "they" when referring to people in general.
(UTS) at Sydney University of Technology forbids students from using the words "mankind", "man-made" or "spokesman". But the school recommends that students still use "him" or "her" instead of "their" or "they" when referring to people in general.
Newcastle University (University of Newcastle) forbids students from using "mankind" to refer to humans and directs them to replace them with "humanity", "human race" or "human kind," although the words also contain "man."
Some (University of Queensland) students at the University of Queensland were deducted for using "gender language" in their papers.
A political student was deducted for using "she" to refer to a car.
Another science major was deducted by 10 points for a similar situation. The student argues that this is a bit absurd and that schools cannot ban every word with "man".
Similar rules have been made at the University of Monash, (Monash University), which says it is not politically correct, but uses language accurately, fairly and respectfully.
Birmingham (Simon Birmingham), the federal education secretary, attacked such policies at colleges and universities. This, he argues, will only add to the stereotype of Australia`s academic elite. Australian universities should do better than this.
