Response to "Who's in Charge of English"

Digging into “Who’s in charge of English” is just like cracking open Mein Kampf. If you don’t go into it with the right mindset or past experience it just reads like an opinionated Facebook rant. I felt put off by the topic to begin with. I sensed as if the writer just didn’t know how to reach half of her audience so she basically said “screw it” and went for a full blown rant. As a man I know I have issues understanding and even being sympathetic in understanding feminist views but if this paper was meant to persuade me it out right failed.

In the reading the author provided plenty of support but honestly it was distracting and boring. Half way through the reading I found myself checking my phone and checking how much was left. The author obviously went to great lengths to support her arguments but eventually it damaged the piece as a whole. The writing itself had a purpose that was clear but what the issue is other than feminist intellectuals this has a narrow audience. I found myself asking “Why should I care” or “why do we need to change the English language for you?” I felt as if I was being spoken down to as the oppressive man, the one who holds women down with the all-powerful use of pronouns. That just feels utterly ridiculous and it is.

In conclusion I do have a serious insight into why the author has a point but is not ultimately right. The author is correct in the fact that our use of feminine words and describers have an effect on our depiction of women and she is also correct on how this affects our view of mankind. However, the culture of our world is ever-changing and I believe descriptors like actress, and hostess will fade from our vocabulary. This will not be from some great social change but rather for convenience. Another shortening in the ever shrinking words of modern tech influenced English. But along with this change our assumptions and beliefs regarding the languages will not change. There will obviously always be a difference between women and men and changing how we write and speak will not change that.