Ms Chanelle Warton1,2
1School of Philosophical, Historical, and Indigenous Studies, Monash University, , Australia, 2Global Women's and Newborn's Health Group, Burnet Institute, , Australia
Biography:
Chanelle Warton is a doctoral candidate at Monash University. Her doctoral research examines the role of healthcare professionals in supporting the reproductive autonomy of pregnant people during prenatal testing. She is also employed as a researcher at in the Global Women’s and Newborn’s Health Group at Burnet Institute. Twitter @chanellewarton
Abstract:
Accurate and inclusive gender-based language is crucial for providing accessible healthcare and reducing health inequalities. While the use of gendered language has received much attention in clinical contexts, there has been limited consideration on the appropriate use of such language in reproductive health research. Consideration of gendered language use in health research is crucial given the differences between research contexts and clinical practice. Where discussions of language in clinical practice primarily focus on local clinician-patient interactions, health research often reports on larger, and sometimes hypothetical, participant populations. The language used in health research may also influence policy and professional guidelines.
In this paper, I argue that researchers and journal editors have an obligation to use gender inclusive language in reproductive health research. I outline this obligation as well as the benefits of gender inclusive language before engaging with objections to the use of gender inclusive language commonly raised in clinical contexts and health research. These objections include that gender inclusive language results in the erasure of women, that it poses challenges for people with low health literacy, that it obfuscates research outcomes and is culturally and linguistically imperialist. I dismiss these concerns as either erroneous or insufficient to relieve researchers and editors of their professional obligations. I conclude by providing practical guidance for researchers and journal editors on how to use gender inclusive language in reproductive health research, employing both theoretical and empirical examples.