Conceptual Reflections on Gender and Language in Swedish
摘要
In this chapter, I discuss Swedish terms related to gender. I discuss the conflation of sex and gender. This conflation is linguistically specifically prevalent in Swedish as there is only one single word in daily speech—kön—that encompasses both sex and gender. Before discussing this, I describe why and when conceptual clarity is important and why this is especially important in relation to gender. I then briefly describe the effects of gender in language on cognitive processes, and how negative effects of gendered language can be countered. Next, I discuss the resistance against gender-inclusive language reforms as based in the political polarization of gender in general and the opposition to beyond-the-binary inclusion in particular. Due to limited research focusing on Swedish, some of this literature covers research in other languages as well. Before concluding, I discuss the different labels used in Swedish to refer to language that aims to be inclusive and the varying implications of these labels. I further give an overview of some guides and checklists that are available in Swedish that aim to increase inclusion and discuss their content.