Gender-sensitive language: Experiences of the Serbian armed forces

Abstract

This paper discusses examples of gender sensitive job qualifications, with the emphasis on jobs and ranks of professional military personnel. It provides the most common reasons for and against these qualifications, as well as a brief review of professional debates in this field. The results of the analysis of data obtained by the research conducted in the defense system of the Republic of Serbia show that there is a general hostility towards the introduction of gender-sensitive addressing to service women. It has been noticed that this hostility is larger in younger than in older military personnel, which is explained by fear from competition and fear from negative reaction of close environment to new rules of addressing.

U radu su razmatrani primeri rodno osvešćenih kvalifikacija zanimanja, naročito zanimanja i činova profesionalnih vojnih lica. Pruženi su najčešći razlozi za i protiv ovih kvalifikacija, kao i pregled stručnih rasprava na ovu temu. Analizom podataka dobijenih u istraživanju koje je sprovedeno u sistemu odbrane Republike Srbije došlo se do rezultata koji pokazuju da postoji generalna odbojnost prema uvođenju rodno osetljivog obraćanja pripadnicama sistema odbrane. Uočeno je da je ova odbojnost izraženija kod mlađih pripadnika nego kod starijih, što se objašnjava strahom od konkurencije i strahom od negativne reakcije bliskog okruženja na nova pravila.