No Ladies, No Gentlemen: On Gendering a Room Full of People
âAddressing a group of students (or colleagues) as âladies and gentlemenâ would subtly imply that their gender was their defining feature: that before all else, I regarded them as gendered. Whether or not my language was suitably inclusive, I was rather missing the point. I wouldnât address a lecture hall as âHullo, English Studies students, and those of you taking Joint Honours degrees!â I wouldnât begin a seminar with âIâm delighted to see you, British and EU citizens, and also our International students from other regions.â I certainly wouldnât usually begin a speech âDear gay and lesbian students, heterosexual students, bisexual students and asexual studentsâ. In each case it would sound as if I was making a particular point. And my audience would be entirely justified in raising an eyebrow to question exactly why I was implying that those distinctions mattered about them.