Chapter Twenty-Three: Gendered Assumptions in Language

There are many ways to celebrate Women's History Month, but at Noteworthy Communications, it should be no shocker that our method of honoring this month is through the study of words and its impact on storytelling. Language does tell a story, after all, and when that language is feminized to the point of creating an entirely new lexicon, we have to wonder what story is being told and why.

What is feminized language? Well, for the purpose of this conversation, feminized language is any neologism that turns a previously gender-neutral term into a female-centered term. For example, maybe March isn't Women's History Month after all, but instead Women's Herstory Month. This is a prime example of the feminization of language we'll be conversing about here.

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The Language and the Linguistics of it All

Language and linguistics, although sometimes used interchangeably, are actually very different. Language is how we communicate information to each other, while linguistics is the study of language, including its evolution over time. Language does change over time, as we well know. We see this in generational slang and the creation of new words as new products, technology, experiences, and understanding demand.

We have proven that when the right word does not exist, we make them up. The feminization of language is what happens when the right word does already exist, but assumptions around the word default to the masculine. The conversation recently has mostly centered around finding gender-neutral terms for the sake of inclusion. What we are discussing is intentionally the opposite.

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Girl Power, or Something Like It

Girlboss. Boss Babe. Boss Lady. Lady Boss. She-E-O. Momtrepreneur. Fempire. EmpowHer. Herstory.

We don't want to take anything away from someone who feels confident and empowered by calling themselves a girlboss, boss babe, or a SHE-E-O, a woman who is building her fempire. If claiming these terms makes a person excited to jump out of bed and get to work, then we say, you go, girl! Even still, it's worth considering why these terms came to be when the gender-neutral terms of boss, chief, and empire were already in circulation. The default assumption for a person in power remains masculine, but creating a new lexicon that inserts the feminine in catchy ways won't do anything to change that.

What is it about these feminized terms that so many embrace, while others find degrading? Is it all just about branding? Men deal with these assumptions in language, too. At what point does a bag become a manbag, after all, and can every man pull off a manbun? Is it because accessories and long hair have traditionally feminine undertones that we have to qualify that no, no, no, this particular bag or head of hair actually belongs to a man? Whereas, the gender-neutral words of "bag" and "bun" are automatically understood to belong to women.

At the end of the day, and at the end of Women's History Month, we can remember that all language is just made up by people to serve whatever purpose we need it to. Sometimes, these new words are just trends, quick to leave our vocabulary as quickly as they arrived. Others are in it for the long haul, and very much worth our understanding.

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Fresh Start

There's nothing quite like a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning. We get to experience them with each new calendar year or birthday, or on the first of each new month, or week, or day. We are constantly given the opportunity to start again in whatever way we feel necessary.

How are our resolutions from the first of January holding up? Have we accomplished all that we wanted to by the time we blow out the candles on our next birthday? Did we hit our professional goals for this quarter? There are so many milestones to reach and so many ways for us to reach them, that sometimes a fresh start is exactly what we need in order to do so.

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Fresh Perspective

A fresh start also offers the chance for a fresh perspective. When we are consistently working with our nose to the grindstone, we can sometimes forget to look up and look around us. A pause for reflection can allow us to appreciate how much we've already achieved. Before we take a breath and refocus on where we're going, we can benefit from looking at how far we've come.

This is the ideal time to reevaluate and consider what we're working toward and why. Are these goals we've set for ourselves just as important to us now as they were when we first decided to pursue them? Are there better, more efficient, or more enjoyable ways to achieve what we want? The opportunity to implement new, improved strategies is exactly what a fresh start can provide.

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Fresh Motivation

A fresh start also offers the chance for fresh motivation. Perhaps we're not where we want to be with our goals, either personally or professionally. However, when we tell ourselves that this is Day One, and any perceived past failures are behind us, suddenly, the slate is wiped clean and we give ourselves permission to try again.

When we rededicate ourselves with a fresh start, we can tap into a new energy source. We're at the starting line, excited and raring to go, rather than winded and losing momentum halfway through. How can we not feel motivated by all the possibilities that lie ahead of us, just waiting for us to reach them?

At Noteworthy Communications, we are constantly looking for ways to incorporate fresh starts into our work, while honoring the standards that we've established for our practices. A fresh start can be as simple as changing up the graphics used to promote this very blog since the launch of The Noteworthy Conversation two years ago, which we did! The change reflects how our style here at Noteworthy has progressed and showcases a new era in our work.

A fresh start could also mean starting a blog, updating website content, rebranding on social media, or creating new partnerships. There are an infinite number of ways to begin again, and if you're looking for a fresh start in how you work, Noteworthy is here to assist. A fresh start, no matter when that may be or what it may look like, is an opportunity for change, for growth, for commitment, and for improvement. We should all be refreshing as often we feel compelled.

Chapter Twenty-One: Goal Digging

Some people look forward to the new year purely for this designated time to consider how they want to be better in the future, the new habits they plan to form, and the accomplishments they want to work toward. Some people don’t bother, understanding that a new year does not necessarily mean a new you.

No matter how you may feel about setting new year’s resolutions, there is value in thinking critically about what you want to achieve and why. Setting goals, of course, does not have to fall at a specific point on the calendar, but there is something to be said for the metaphorically clean slate presented to us as one year ends and another begins.

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Think Big

So, how do we go about planning for the year ahead? One way to begin is to think even beyond the next 365 days. Where do we want to be in two years? Five? Ten? Where do we want to be at the end of our lives, whenever that may be? Before we take our first step to start our journey, it would be helpful to know where we want to be at the conclusion of it.

The beautiful part of this process is that there are absolutely no limits. There is nothing we lose by thinking big, by dreaming uncontrollably. We have the opportunity to be honest with ourselves about what we want, how we would like to live, and what we are willing to do to ensure we reach it. Then, all that’s left is the hard work to make it our reality.

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Plan Small

Once we have those big dreams in our heads and in our hearts, we can work backwards and break down what we need to do in order to get there. What concrete steps do we need to take? What possible obstacles or setbacks should we anticipate? We write the lists, set the deadlines, create the vision boards, and prepare to chip away at the work required of us.

Unlike with brainstorming our goals, there are limits to what we can physically, mentally, or emotionally accomplish in a set period of time. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of overplanning. We’re motivated and we strategize and then we have to face the possibility that our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. Over time, and through repeated trial and error, we discover that setting realistic goals and milestones is half the battle.

Noteworthy Communications is all about digging for goals. We love taking stock of the previous year, or quarter, or month, and planning how we can approach the next one with renewed energy, strategic planning, and bigger benchmarks. This is how we move forward, rather than remain stagnant. We set goals. We make a plan. We take action. There is never not something we are working toward.

Whether you work in quarterly goals, monthly goals, or a daily to-do list, drawing out these maps can increase productivity while breaking our ambitions down into manageable bite-size pieces. As a full year stretches ahead of us, full of possibility, it might be easy to become overwhelmed, and if you think formal goal setting is not for you, consider starting small, even if your dreams are big.