Teacher Appropriated as Bricoleur: Neutralizing Gendering Through Language

Abstract

Language is an invincible tool and a mighty weapon that mankind has been bestowed with. Among the numerous professions that man has set his mark on, teaching is considered preeminent thanks to its potential to create and recreate the diverse fields of study that it encompasses. Moreover, along with imparting knowledge, teaching is revered as a noble and ennobling vocation that helps mould young minds, transforming a primitive, instinct-driven species into civilized citizens of the world. Beyond the cliched stereotypical norms, teachers of the 21^st century have the onerous task and unrivalled opportunity to become prophets and propagators of equality by exercising a genderless language in the classroom.  The stigma towards any gender and the scornful attitude towards the queer can be altered and sublimated most effectively when a person steps on to this world. This paper attempts to envisage a novel role for teachers in breaking gender binaries and accepting everyone as equal and normal by adopting a genderless language. This study believes that this goal can be best achieved when the teacher dons the hat of a bricoleur, neutralizing the gendering that has become entrenched in human language.