In this selection, Alleen Pace Nilsen is clear to make a relationship between two unlikely concepts: sexism and language. He introduces the readers to the idea of gender biases in the English language. He says that words have more to imply than just its meaning and that there are subtle influences it makes to our everyday lives.
We might not really notice it at first, but what Nilsen says is, in fact, true. Words used to describe men, usually signify or emphasize power, strength or courage. These words, when pondered upon, would then lead us to relate men to history. All the adventures (or misadventures), battles, fights, and violence are generally perceived to be done mostly by men. Words used to describe women, on the other hand, usually connote elegance, passiveness or frailty. This gives the society the idea that women are somewhat inferior to the male population. The author also points out that society tends to label women as objects. Men often perceive or treat women as just sex objects or possessions.
Whether it is the words that denote negative meaning or the perception of men that women are just sex objects, it is exactly these two reasons that make women embarrassed in their own skin.
I hope in the future, writers would be more conscious of the words that they are using so as to avoid being sex-biased in the process.
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