Kate Swift
Kate Swift (December 9, 1923 – May 7, 2011) was an American feminist writer and editor who co-wrote (with Casey Miller, her business partner and platonic domestic partner) influential books and articles about sexism in the English language.[1][2][3][4]
Writing career
Casey Miller moved to East Haddam, Connecticut in 1967 and began a writing partnership with Swift, which lasted until Miller’s death.[5]
Miller formed a professional editing partnership with Swift, who was at the time the director of the news bureau of the Yale University's
"Desexing the English Language"
After this realization, Swift and Miller began to explore and promote awareness of the ways in which the English Language is gender biased towards men.[8]
The next year, Swift and Miller published an article titled "Desexing the English Language" in the inaugural issue of the magazine
Words and Women
Swift and Miller’s work culminated in their publishing of the book Words and Women in 1976 by Doubleday, which Women's Media Center called "a world-changing book."[12]
The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing
In 1980 Swift and Miller wrote The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing and had it published by Lippincott & Crowell and in 1988 by HarperCollins.[7] Senator Chris Dodd later said that this handbook is "still considered the standard reference guide on how to correctly utilize language in order to properly address and speak of women."[5]
Activism
In 1977, Swift became an associate of the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP).[13]
Burial
Miller was buried in Madison, Connecticut and was later joined by Swift, upon Swift's own death in 2011.
Legacy
Because of their efforts, the Hartford Courant later titled Swift and Miller as "leaders in the women's movement of the 1970s" and a duo who "took on the pronoun he [...] along with the rest of what they and other feminists considered male-biased language in countless articles and speeches as well as in their books."[14] Eventually people became aware of the "implicit discrimination in" the English language and "writing and speaking without using masculine-gender words" began to catch on.[14][5] Furthermore, some of Swift and Miller’s actual proposals for non sexist language eventually found their way into everyday usage. For example, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, "Some of the authors' proposals gained traction. Many newspapers, textbooks and public speakers avoid "fireman" and "stewardess" nowadays."[6]
Swift and Miller’s personal papers and records are kept in the Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.[15]
References
- ^ Grimes, William (May 9, 2011). "Kate Swift, Writer Who Rooted Out Sexism in Language, Dies at 87". The New York Times.
- ^ http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv80889/op=fstyle.aspx?t=k&q=%22Coll+291%22[permanent dead link] Casey Miller and Kate Swift Papers
- ^ "Deaths elsewhere: Kate Swift, 87, helped alter sexist language". TwinCities.com. May 10, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ^ Isele, Elizabeth (July 4, 1976). "WILLA Volume 3 – Casey Miller and Kate Swift: Women Who Dared to Disturb the Lexicon by Elizabeth Isele". The Women in Literature and Life Assembly. 3. Scholar.lib.vt.edu. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c Senator Dodd (CT). "Tribute to Casey Miller." Congressional Record 143:15 (February 7, 1997), p. S1125-6. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1997-02-07/pdf/CREC-1997-02-07-pt1-PgS1125.pdf
- ^ a b c "Deaths elsewhere: Kate Swift, 87, helped alter sexist language". Twin Cities. May 10, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-252-03189-2.
- ISBN 978-0-7611-6576-7.
- ISBN 978-1-59884-357-6.
- ^ Allen, Donna, and Kassell, Paula. 1997. "Casey Geddes Miller (1919-1997): An Appreciation." Women and Language 20 (1): 1. Academic OneFile. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA19569699&v=2.1&u=s8492775&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=aee91b2f57de292c519a5eb77a6953b6.
- ^ May 13; Feminism, 2011 | Rosalie Maggio |; LGBTQIA. "Kate Swift, Feminist Wordsmith, 1923 to 2011 - Women's Media Center". womensmediacenter.com. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Associates | The Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press". www.wifp.org. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ^ a b Van Nes, Claudia. "Enemy of Sexist Language." The Courant. January 6, 1997. http://articles.courant.com/1997-01-06/news/9701060134_1_first-book-casey-miller-ms-miller
- ^ "Archives West: Casey Miller and Kate Swift papers, 1919-2000". nwda.orbiscascade.org. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
Sources