in this family
We prioritize the usage of the feminine in our everyday grammar. More later.
I am a feminist. I notice all around me the ways that men have ruled the land we live in, the products we use, the language we speak. When I lived in Italy I chose to speak in a way unlike anyone I was surrounded by. I chose the feminine.
Let me give you an example. You see, if you have a group of all boys hanging out and someone comes up and greets them, that person would say 'Ciao ragazzi!' If they came upon a group of all women, it would be 'Ciao ragazze!' In this context, ragazzi is the plural masculine word for young people and ragazze is the plural feminine.
Now let's look at another situation. You have a group of women hanging out, let's say a group of 8. In this group, however, there is one man. If someone comes up and says hello to the group, do you know what they would say? Ciao ragazzi. One man being present changes the word that you would use, no matter how many women are present.
How does this make sense? Because there is 1 man in a group that is vastly the feminine majority, the word changes. The masculine plural word is used. This isn't the only time it happens in the italian language.
This doesn't just happen in Italian. In english, we use 'guys', 'man', and a plethora of other masculine words. It seems second nature to assume that someone is a man or even that an inanimate object is a male.
To me, this one of the insidious ways that the patriarchy is embedded in our society and culture, global and local.
I hope you will pay attention to the words you use in your everyday life and see what I am talking about. Do you tend to sway towards the masculine or the feminine?
It's time to change the paradigm. Choose the feminine.