jueves, 29 de enero de 2009

Some traditions must change

A couple of months ago I was reading over the opinion section of The Ebbtide and I stopped for a second to re-read the title of one of the most eye-catching sections, "Man on the street" (MOTS). I wasn't surprised, but I felt kind of funny as I noticed that at least half of the interviewees were females and the title did not exactly represent them.

"MOTS" is not a title The Ebbtide came up with. It is actually a term that has been used in journalism to refer to an unrehearsed interview with an average person; and the staff at the time that man on the street was started at The Ebbtide decided to keep it. Still, the fact that it is a traditional term does not mean that the word used is neutral or that it was originally intended to be neutral.

Chairman is a traditional term. When somebody "chairs" a session, we understand that someone sitting on the designated chair is directing the session. If that person is referred to as chairman, in a subtle or maybe not so subtle way, we establish that males, not females, occupy that chair. It may be possible for a women to chair, but language makes it harder to picture that option and reinforces the participation of men as chairmen.

It may be possible that these terms were intended to purposefully exclude half of the world population (females) since western societies have not always been so keen to allow women to participate in public life. However, some traditions have changed and nowadays more and more women demand equality. Why should we keep the name "MOTS" if it does not include females or other genders?

Language is a funny thing. Sometimes we can use it with thoughtful precision to say exactly what we want, but most often we use words out of familiarity. We don't generally take a deep breath and think about the words we use.

We used to say "men at work" when talking about road workers but today we find women doing those jobs too. It's like not acknowledging the achievements of both sides, or just simply ignoring the existence of women.

As a college newspaper The Ebbtide plays an important role in promoting awareness and understanding within the SCC community, setting standards and reinforcing existing ones. We can't underestimate the power of college media, and we can't underestimate what a simple word can mean to all of us.

It would be ideal if we could consciously and meticulously choose our words for respect and recognition of diversity. Would the title "Word On The Street" leave anybody behind?


Printed in: "The Ebbtide" - The student newspaper of Shoreline Community College - Volume 44 Issue 7 - January 30 - February 13, 2009