Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

They don’t do the physical damage of sticks and stones - but they can be demeaning, demoralizing and enraging - which can lead to the throwing of those sticks and stones.

And, the words can mean something totally different to you, me and the man down the street - depending on the gender, context, tone, and culture. You can have the best and friendliest of intentions and still deeply offend someone. It gets pretty “sticky” pretty quickly.

We’ve been having a good discussion over at Susan Getgood’s blog re “chicks” which well illustrates this point. Join in, if you’d like.

And, remember - it’s never a bad idea to think before you speak (or write)!

Tags: gender, marketing, sexism