Great article. Thank you for the links. As an elder activist (and journalist) I am constantly getting gut-punched by the youngsters for not being able to remember the latest politically correct word. Does LGBTQA+++ get an addition every other month? And does that young woman have twins with the same name and why do babies have to be They's? Then there are the folks I knew before they transitioned and my old brain-to-tongue goofs up. And did I not change my name to a neutral gender one back during the second wave of feminism to avoid gender distraction in the first place? And the most bitter thing: the grants and awards going to writers and artists who lay claim to the latest gender/ ethnic/ or racial fad that funders have bought into rather than the simple quality of their work. I'm so tired of it, that I actually answered an ad for freelance work that wanted "fresh, young, cutting edge style" by saying maybe I'm a 20-year-old Native American hip trans poet and maybe I'm not. I'm a good writer and could use any voice they wanted. The editor asked for a W9.
I'm intrigued how copywriting is sometimes directed to one gender for no apparent reason. This occurs in diverse fields such as marketing, SEO, and business training courses. It is difficult to quantify if gendered writing is effective in attracting the million dollar client, or whether it actually works counter to that. After all, can the copywriter really be certain the persons they are excluding aren't valuable prospective clients?
My opinion is good content is good content, independent of the gender of the person providing it, and independent of the gender of the person the content may be marketed.
It makes me think about my disabled dog, about whom (?!) I just finished an article...Shall I describe him as a "dog with disabilities," and may I refer to him as "whom" as opposed to "it"? I never cared for the reference to animals as "it"...so I would surmise the powers-that-be would suggest "dog" first"...
I capitalize the W in White to match the capital B in Black.
Great article. Thank you for the links. As an elder activist (and journalist) I am constantly getting gut-punched by the youngsters for not being able to remember the latest politically correct word. Does LGBTQA+++ get an addition every other month? And does that young woman have twins with the same name and why do babies have to be They's? Then there are the folks I knew before they transitioned and my old brain-to-tongue goofs up. And did I not change my name to a neutral gender one back during the second wave of feminism to avoid gender distraction in the first place? And the most bitter thing: the grants and awards going to writers and artists who lay claim to the latest gender/ ethnic/ or racial fad that funders have bought into rather than the simple quality of their work. I'm so tired of it, that I actually answered an ad for freelance work that wanted "fresh, young, cutting edge style" by saying maybe I'm a 20-year-old Native American hip trans poet and maybe I'm not. I'm a good writer and could use any voice they wanted. The editor asked for a W9.
I'm intrigued how copywriting is sometimes directed to one gender for no apparent reason. This occurs in diverse fields such as marketing, SEO, and business training courses. It is difficult to quantify if gendered writing is effective in attracting the million dollar client, or whether it actually works counter to that. After all, can the copywriter really be certain the persons they are excluding aren't valuable prospective clients?
My opinion is good content is good content, independent of the gender of the person providing it, and independent of the gender of the person the content may be marketed.
It makes me think about my disabled dog, about whom (?!) I just finished an article...Shall I describe him as a "dog with disabilities," and may I refer to him as "whom" as opposed to "it"? I never cared for the reference to animals as "it"...so I would surmise the powers-that-be would suggest "dog" first"...
In gratitude,
Denise