11/25 (Sat.) Gender neutral (Host: Rock)

[Rock]

113學年度北北基國中會考英語科第一題
A: I bumped into my friend John yesterday.
B: Cool! _____ ____ also a student?
(A) Is he (B) Is she (C) Is they (D) Are they

Session one
How to Use Gender-Neutral Language at Work and in Life
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/gender-neutral-language/

How To Use Gender-Neutral Language, And Why It’s Important To Try
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesse ... 1c88a026ba

漢字歧視女性 《經濟學人》認應重新造字
https://anntw.com/articles/20180910-D48e


While many English words are naturally gender-neutral, some still carry gendered connotations. So it’s also important to pay attention to your language in less formal conversations, like those with coworkers over Slack. Here are a few examples of the types of words that may be common in the workplace, as well as alternatives to use instead:

Businessman → Businessperson, business representative
Chairman/chairwoman → Chairperson, chair
Foreman → Foreperson
Salesman → Salesperson
Manpower → Workforce, workers
Mailman → Letter carrier, postal worker
Manned → Crewed

Stewardess → Flight attendant
Maid → Housekeeper
Granddaughter/Grandson → Grandchild
Husband/wife → Spouse, partner
Fireman → Firefighter
Congressman → Legislator
Freshman → First-year student
Upperclassman → Third-year, fourth-year, etc.
Man-made → Synthetic

18 gender-neutral examples
1 Man/woman → Person, adult
2 Boy/girl → Child
3 Sister/brother → Sibling
4 Mother/father → Parent
5 Boyfriend/girlfriend → Partner, significant other
6 Grandma/grandpa → Grandparent
7 Waiter/waitress → Server
8 Actor/Actress → Performer
9 Fireman → Firefighter
10 Policeman → Police officer
11 Maiden name → Family name
12 Dear Sir → Dear [professional title]
13 Dude → Friend, person
14 Ladies and gentlemen → Folks, everyone
15 The common man → The average person
16 Kinsmen → Relatives
17 Man up → Toughen up
18 Mankind → Humankind

Use “They” Instead Of “He” Or “She”
Use “Mx” Instead Of “Mr,” “Ms,” “Mrs” Or “Miss”
Use “Latinx” Instead Of “Latino” Or “Latina”
Use Gender-neutral Forms Of Occupations


Questions
1. Please read the gender-neutral word list above. Which ones are good and which ones are not necessary?

2. Why do some people think gender neutral language is important? Is it wrong not to follow those gender neutral words?
2.1 Is it a good idea to address people as Mx. instead of Mr./Ms./Miss? What would you feel if someone calls you Mx.?
2.2 Would you stop using "son and daughter" or "兒子和女兒"?
2.3 How about boy scouts and girl scouts? Should they be named as "child scouts" and put kids of all genders together?

3. Do you agree with what mentioned in the Chinese article above? Do we need to have new Chinese words for gender equality? 《16漢字之錯：既不尊重女性，又誤導兒童人生觀？》...文中所點名的16漢字包含娛、耍、婪、嫉、妒、嫌、佞、妄、妖、奴、妓、娼、姦、姘、婊和嫖，他認為，這16個字都具有一定的貶義，讓人在學習、書寫或閱讀的過程中，無形中降低了對女性的評價。
3.1 Do you think we should take out "妳" and "她" to avoid gender labeling?

Session Two
Taiwan No. 1 in Asia

Taiwan No. 1 in Asia, world No. 6 for gender equality
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan ... 2003750242

跨性別大學生爭取住女生宿舍受辱 學務長、總教官判賠
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/society/br ... ws/3583091

全國近600間性別友善廁所，校園更友善了嗎？
https://flipedu.parenting.com.tw/article/007911

Women-only spa forced to allow trans customers with penises even though everyone is naked
https://nypost.com/2023/06/09/women-onl ... h-penises/

板橋高中 開放男生穿裙上學
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/life/paper/1305131

【中年偽娘】三位大叔的女裝路：後來發現不用重新投胎也可以變成另一個人
https://www.thenewslens.com/feature/crossdresser/111469

Questions
1. What do you think of the news "Taiwan No. 1 in Asia, world No. 6 for gender equality"? Is it good news, bad news or fake news?

2. Do you support co-ed dorms and gender neutral restrooms in schools? Should genders be considered in school housing and restrooms?
2.1 Is it a better solution that we have men/women/gender-friendly restrooms in public? How about school dormitory? Is it a good idea to allow people of all genders living in the same building?
2.2 What do you think of the news that women only spa is forced to have transgender customers? Should a woman with a penis have the right to go to women-only areas?
2.3 How about men? Do you care if a transgender man share a men-only space with you? Why and why not?

3. There are more cross dressers in public now in Taiwan. Is it a good thing? Does it mean that we are having more gender equality or simply more shameless people in public?

..........................................................................................

Agenda:
4:00 ~ 4:10pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
4:10 ~ 4:15pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
4:15 ~ 4:50pm Discussion Session (35 mins)
4:50 ~ 5:10pm Summarization (20 mins)
5:10 ~ 5:15pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 10 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
5:15 ~ 5:55pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
6:00 ~ 6:20pm Summarization (20 mins)
6:20 ~ 6:30pm Concluding Remarks / Announcements

Meeting Date: As shown on the Subject Line
Meeting Time: 4:10pm – 6:30pm
Meeting Venue: 丹堤咖啡 Dante Coffee (Minimum Order $80)
Address: 台北市濟南路三段25號[MAP]-捷運忠孝新生站3號出口步行3分鐘

Important Notes:
1. We advise participants to print out the discussion questions and bring them to the meeting for reference. As for the supporting articles, feel free to print them out, as well, according to your preference.
2. We suggest that participants read the articles and think about the questions in advance.
3. Newcomers should prepare a two-to-three minute self-introduction in English to deliver when called upon by the host before the start of the discussion. The host may also ask you to give brief feedback about the meeting at the conclusion of the meeting.
4. We conduct the entire meeting in English. All participants should have at least moderate English-conversation skills and be able to articulate your ideas for each discussion question.
5. We welcome newcomers and other guests to attend the meetings and join the discussion freely for two times. After that, we hope you will consider becoming a YoYo English Club member. We charge a NT$1500 lifetime membership fee, or NT$1000 for students.

[miller]

Move to the top.

[Luis Ko]

113學年度北北基國中會考英語科第一題
A: I bumped into my friend John yesterday.
B: Cool! _____ ____ also a student?
(A) Is he (B) Is she (C) Is they (D) Are they

just wanna say, J.K. Rowling is right about what she has said on "women" and "sex", and "the movement".

Here's something I also want to say excerpted from the link below,

"what I saw as a cultural movement that was illiberal in its methods and questionable in its ideas," and "there is something dangerous about this movement and that it must be challenged.".

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/ ... ly-unhappy

Then, there you go.

https://fb.watch/ovX4Zuzd-I/?mibextid=4p3i6U]



By the way, guess the question's answer is (D), since John's sex is unknown. Then again, this is not a good question I would say, because "John" used to be a boy, but could be a girl nowadays. It really makes people confused and , leaves the question in complete chaos, if I may say so.

[Luis Ko]

don't get me wrong. i also agree with what she says, "I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans.". however, i can hardly agree some comments from the protagonists of the movement. for example, " Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations.".

to me, this kind of comments are simply out of emotion and blatantly deny the facts, and really show no respect for people who hold differrent opinions. the world has been overwhelmed by political correctnesses, and somtimes it makes people unquestioning what is really questioinable. the issue in contention is exact one of them that really needs to be challenged i would say.

[Rock]

Kat said that since it's John, she would use “he” in the question.