Is Spanish a Sexist Language?

It seems that political correctness knows no bounds. With feminist groups and a handful of linguistic scholars leading the charge, so-called “inclusive language” has slowly crept into Spanish in the last few years. In other words, what once passed for perfectly acceptable and grammatically correct Spanish is now labeled machista or sexist, with some academics proposing changes to language usage in order to compensate. Assorted universities, unions and autonomous communities have even created style guides with new rules prescribing non-sexist language.

It’s true that the masculine gender predominates in the Spanish language when speaking in the plural form. For example, a room full of female attorneys would constitute the use of the word “abogadas” (feminine plural), but should one male attorney grace the room with his presence, the masculine plural form would be used. Likewise, the parents of three girls and one boy would refer to their children as hijos (masculine plural) despite the overwhelming female majority.

Overall it can be said that English is a more compact, concise language than Spanish; however, in certain cases, Spanish has the upper hand. For example, in English we must say “brothers and sisters” while the Spanish word “hermanos” captures the same meaning in a more succinct manner. Spanish will lose what little advantage it has in this sense if changes are adopted. Case in point, the word “argentinos” encompasses both male and female citizens of Argentina; however, scholars are suggesting the use of the more inclusive “argentinos y argentinas,” and indeed the nation’s president seems to have adopted this mode of speech.

Ultimately, these changes make the language more unruly and less pleasing to the ear. They also present a problem in terms of space, as these expanded forms of expression take up more room in written documents. Text expansion is already an issue when translating from English into Spanish; these new rules would only worsen the problem.

Supporters of non-sexist language argue that existing Spanish syntax diminishes the importance of women and is tantamount to discrimination, essentially making women invisible within the language. Furthermore, by dictating that the masculine gender should take precedence, critics claim that the standard rules of Spanish grammar—under the guise of tradition— constitute a tool of female domination.

Without a doubt, language reflects the society from which it emerged. Spanish evolved, over the course of centuries, from Latin, a patriarchal language. Although women were considered second-class citizens when Spanish first came about, this fact doesn’t mean that women are bound to this same position in modern-day society. The Spanish language isn’t holding women back; machista attitudes and cultural traditions impeding women’s empowerment are the real issue.

Besides, it’s very difficult to establish a clear connection between gender discrimination and language. While certain languages, such as Chinese, may appear to be less sexist, the women in these societies are no more empowered than those who speak Spanish. In fact, they are less so. The bottom line is that language equality is not necessarily reflected in the feminine condition.

If Hispanics really want to fight sexism, they should start with concrete measures that guarantee rights like equal pay, reproductive choice, access to education, etc. for women rather than tossing away a part of their linguistic heritage.