gender-blind
Meaning
Not taking a person's gender into account; designed to be neutral or fair to all genders.
Unaware of or insensitive to distinctions or discrimination based on gender.
Structure
Usage
The company adopted a gender-blind recruitment process to ensure equal opportunity.
A truly gender-blind society would not base opportunities on whether someone is male or female.
The policy was criticized for being gender-blind and failing to address the specific needs of women.
Etymology
The term 'gender-blind' is a modern compound, formed in the late 20th century by combining the noun 'gender' with the adjective 'blind'. The word 'gender' itself traces back to Latin 'genus', meaning "kind, sort, or race," which evolved in French to specify social or grammatical distinctions based on sex. 'Blind' originates from the Proto-Germanic 'blindaz', carrying the core sense of physical sightlessness. In compounding, 'blind' adopts a figurative sense, meaning "oblivious to" or "not influenced by," a semantic extension seen in terms like 'color-blind'. Thus, 'gender-blind' logically constructs its meaning of "not seeing or acknowledging gender differences" by metaphorically applying the concept of visual impairment to social perception.
Analysis
- gender: From Middle English 'gendre', from Old French, from Latin 'genus' (birth, race, kind). In this compound, it functions as a noun denoting the concept of sex or social identity. - blind: From Old English 'blind' (physically sightless). In this compound, it functions as an adjective meaning "lacking perception or awareness regarding" the preceding element.