‘Male’ and ‘female’ plugs and connectors – gendered language for the ends of garden hoses, electrical cords and pipe fittings sparks debate

‘Male’ and ‘female’ plugs and connectors – gendered language for the ends of garden hoses, electrical cords and pipe fittings sparks debate

Male and female or plug and socket? artpartner-images/The Image Bank via Getty ImagesHopefully to mean “I hope”; singular “they”; “primary bedroom” instead of “master bedroom” – all are examples of recent language changes. How do such changes develop? And what happens when people push back against them? We studied a pair of ubiquitous terms currently undergoing change: “male” and “female” used to describe connector ends. Consider this sentence f…