Shine OnSweden introduces ‘hen’, a gender-neutral term for ‘he’ and ‘she’
It's certainly true that our society has a tendency to push certain characteristics upon genders, beginning from infancy and continuing into adulthood. Boys have a wardrobe full of blue before they're even born, just as girls are bundled in pink. Girls get Barbies while boys get monster trucks; girls are enrolled in ballet class as boys are registered for ice hockey. The expectations of what they should be interested in and how they're supposed to carry themselves are enforced right from the start.
In Sweden, activists are taking the quest for gender equality one step further. Earlier this month, the country added a new gender-neutral pronoun to the online version of its National Encyclopedia: "hen" will be used to replace both "he" and "she", reports Slate.
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The gender-neutral debate is a hot topic in Sweden. The new personal pronoun was sparked by the country's first gender-neutral children's book, Kivi and Monsterdog, and the issue has been all over national newspapers, television programs and parenting blogs.
According to Slate, one clothing store in Sweden got rid of its "boys" and "girls" sections, and a Swedish toy company, Leklust, has received attention for switching up the typical gender roles in its latest catalog -- a boy in a Spiderman costume is pictured pushing a pink baby carriage, and a girl outfitted in denim is riding a tractor.
Not everyone in Sweden is on board with the fight for gender neutrality, however. Jan Guillou, one of the country's well-known authors, expressed her opinion on the matter in a recent interview with Vice magazine. "I think it's silly because it doesn't change anything," he says. "And I don't think that my gender has anything to do with my equality because that it a political matter."
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In the interview, Guillou also refers to the gender-neutral activists as "feminist activists who want to destroy our language."
Here in Canada, similar debates have taken place, such as the 2010 federal government review of the Canadian national anthem wording, reports the CBC. After considering making the lyrics more inclusive by not using the term "sons", negative public reaction led to the decision to leave the lyrics in their original form.
Last year in Toronto, a couple decided to give their baby a gender-neutral name, Storm, and keep its sex a secret, as a tribute to the freedom of choice. Public reaction to the much talked-about story was mixed.
Do you think Canada should adopt a similarly gender-neutral term for 'he' and 'she'? Or is this going too far?
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