Wikipedia’s policies encourages writers to avoid gender terms like he and her when talking about someone within in a Wikipedia article. This practice is good to use because the past the default was he or him which was applied to everyone and that is generalizing. Wikipedia is asking for people that are contributing and writing to be as specific as possible when describing people. “Use the most specific terminology available. If someone is of Ethiopian descent, describe them as “Ethiopian”, not “African.” For example I am from the Dominican Republic so you would refer to me as Dominican. Another example is assuming that everyone who speaks “Spanish” as being “Mexican” not everyone who speaks Spanish is Mexican. There are people that come from other places in the world where they speak Spanish. That is generalizing all Spanish speakers. It is also important to also not focus on gender it is best to identify who is being discussed unless these details are important to the article. The goal of this policy is to push for more inclusiveness and diversity within Wikipedia. Because as we learned earlier in class Wikipedia is male dominated.
Wikipedia’s guidelines and policies work to avoid to contributing to stereotypes when discussing women, minorities,and marginalized groups. When writing about women one must make sure that the content is not using sexist language that promotes sexism. I also wanted to point out that male is not the default. Refrain from assuming that. Always use gender neutral language. “Avoid langue that make the male the “self” and the female the “other.” (“Wikipedia”, 2019). According to Wikipedia the editor who specify a gender in their preferences was 115,941 (16.7%) were female and 576,106 were male as of 13 June 2019. (“Wikipedia”, 2019). These statics are not surprising because as we learned earlier is class Wikipedia is male dominated.
The Failed Proposal in Wikipedia is a guideline for dealing with issues labeling people and organizations within in articles. That one must label in way that is not offensive or going against the wishes of those involved with the article. It is good etiquette and avoids any editorial conflicts per Wikipedia.
Sources Cited:
Wikipedia:Gender-neutral language. (2019a). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Gender-neutral_language&oldid=908035673
Wikipedia:Manual of Style. (2019b). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style&oldid=923575615
Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Identity (failed proposal). (2019c). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Identity_(failed_proposal)&oldid=878962548
Wikipedia:Neutral point of view. (2019d). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view&oldid=913713064
Wikipedia:Neutral point of view. (2019e). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view&oldid=913713064Wikipedia:Writing about women. (2019f). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Writing_about_women&oldid=914269931
