k Brown, Miss Smith and Mr. Black use Frank Brown, Judy Smith and Ron Black or Mr. Brown, Ms. Smith and Mr. Black. Also, to eliminate sexism when addressing persons formally, use a married womans first name instead of her husbands; such as; Ms. Diane Mallinger not Mrs. Robert Mallinger. This identifies the person, not a possession of the husband. When addressing someone in writing and you are unaware of their sex, you would address them using Dear Colleague or Editor or Professor instead of Dear Sir, or Gentlemen.It has become common for people to address others with whom they are barely acquainted as love, pet, dear or honey. While it is usually intended as a sign of warmth and friendliness, in some circumstances it can have quite a negative effect. Men rarely address other men as love, pet or dear, but frequently do so to women. Essentially, they are treating women differently from how they treat men. This could be interpreted as a lack of respect or that the relationship is viewed as potentially sexual. Whatever the reason, it is inappropriate in work and study relationships. When people in positions of authority refer to others using these names it can be felt to be patronizing and dismissive. If we are to treat those with whom we study and work with respect as equals, we should try to avoid the use of overly familiar terms of address.Some commonly used expressions have the usually unintentional effect of trivializing and demeaning the contribution of women. Some examples are The girls in the office instead use The secretaries/typist/administrative assistants or Two men and three girls work in the lab instead use Five people work in the lab. Sexism is discrimination on the basis of gender. While it is primarily women who are affected by sexism, it can be used to discriminate against either men or women. The language we use reflects and reinforces the values of the society in which we live. Rather than limiting and c...
