Biased language is words and phrases that are considered prejudiced, offensive and hurtful. Biased language includes expressions that demean or exclude people because of age, sex, race, ethnicity, social class, or certain physical or mental traits. ‘Every Student Should Be Aware What His Or Her Homework Assignments Are’ is not biased in any way because this includes all students and is a clear and obvious statement. ‘The President Will Take His Vacation In The Second Week Of October’ is not biased language as long as it refers to a specific president who will be taking his vacation in the second week of October and is a male. If this were referring to all presidents who should always take their vacation in October, it could be considered biased because it uses the male personal pronoun, ‘He’, which excludes the possibility of a female president.
‘A doctor should know his way around an operating room’ is definitely considered biased language because it again uses the personal pronoun ‘He’ and as it does not refer to a specific doctor, it is suggesting that all doctors are male and excludes females doctors. There is also an underlying suggestion that only males should be doctors which the majority of people would find offensive and would definitely be considered prejudiced.
As we become more and more aware of what types of language is ‘Politically Correct’ or ‘PC’, it is important to think about what we say first and form our sentences on the basis that it will not offend or hurt anyone. The majority of people now have equal thoughts and attitudes towards different genders and races but we should always avoid biased language that pigeon-holes people for other things besides culture that they don't necessarily have control over, including gender, race, religion, handicaps and age.
‘A doctor should know his way around an operating room’ is definitely considered biased language because it again uses the personal pronoun ‘He’ and as it does not refer to a specific doctor, it is suggesting that all doctors are male and excludes females doctors. There is also an underlying suggestion that only males should be doctors which the majority of people would find offensive and would definitely be considered prejudiced.
As we become more and more aware of what types of language is ‘Politically Correct’ or ‘PC’, it is important to think about what we say first and form our sentences on the basis that it will not offend or hurt anyone. The majority of people now have equal thoughts and attitudes towards different genders and races but we should always avoid biased language that pigeon-holes people for other things besides culture that they don't necessarily have control over, including gender, race, religion, handicaps and age.
