'Sexist’ words under fire

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34130, 17 April 1976, Page 2

'Sexist ’ words under fire

(N.Z. Press Association)

AUCKLAND, April 16.

Reference to “he” or “she” should be changed to “co” to achieve a nonsexist language, the Values Party’s annual conference was told today.

Mrs Deidre Kent, a mother of four children from Tauranga, said language was the most powerful and insidious weapon remaining to oppress women.

In a paper on “Women’s place within the Values Party,” Mrs Kent said women faced four difficulties within a political party. They lacked confidence, they looked on themsleves as supported rather than supporter, and they lacked power.

The fourth difficulty was that women were the victims of an archaic language, designed to meet the need of a society where only men did things of significance.

“References made to

‘chap’, ‘bloke’, ffellow’, or ‘guy’, can be made in the course of conversation which continues to ignore the possibility that the said friend or workmate might be female.

“Phrases like ‘One man one vote,’ and ‘the man in the street,’ simply must be replaced and this after 83 years of women’s suffrage. “Could i suggest that we adopt, if necessary, a new singular form of they, that is, ‘he’ or ‘she’ equals ‘co’.

“Likewise, we could have ‘coself’ for ‘himself or ‘herself, and ‘cos’ for ‘his’ or ‘hers.’ “Cumbersome terminology will have to give way sooner or later to a new set of pronouns and the sooner we adopt them or use a new syntax the better,” she said. The -onference adopted a remit promoted by Mrs Kent, that terms, such as “he” or “she,” be avoided as much as possible during the conference session.