Languages evolve. But they do not always evolve in the same direction — even when societies claim to pursue the same values.

Consider English. Once upon a time, feminine professional forms were common:

Today, many of these forms sound archaic, awkward, or even patronizing. Modern English increasingly prefers gender-neutral terminology:

In English-speaking societies, removing gender distinctions is often seen as progressive. Equality is associated with universality. The masculine form no longer functions as masculine, but as neutral.

Now consider Ukrainian.

There, the trend often moves in the opposite direction. New feminine forms continue to appear and gain legitimacy:

авторка (avtorka — feminine form of “author”; roughly comparable to the archaic English authoress)

редакторка (redaktorka — feminine form of “editor”; roughly comparable to an English editoress)

психологиня (psykholohynia — feminine form of “psychologist”; English never developed a widely used equivalent)

директорка (dyrektorka — feminine form of “director”; roughly comparable to an English directoress)

Previously, masculine forms were widely used in a supposedly generic sense. Today, many speakers insist that women deserve explicit linguistic visibility.

Importantly, these Ukrainian forms are generally perceived as modern and progressive. The English examples (authoress, directoress, etc.) are provided only to help English-speaking readers understand the grammatical pattern, not because the words carry the same social connotations.

And here emerges a fascinating paradox.

Both English-speaking and Ukrainian-speaking societies generally consider themselves modern, democratic, pro-equality, and supportive of women’s rights. Yet one linguistic culture moves toward degendering, while the other moves toward additional gender marking.

Because there is no universal feminist linguistic strategy.

Different societies interpret equality differently.

In one culture, equality means removing distinctions.

In another, equality means acknowledging distinctions openly instead of hiding women behind masculine defaults.

The same social ideal produces opposite grammatical outcomes.

That alone should make us more cautious before declaring any single linguistic model “correct,” “progressive,” or “politically proper.”

The Russian Case: When Language Meets Geopolitics

Russian presents yet another variation of the same phenomenon.

Like Ukrainian, Russian possesses the grammatical tools needed to create feminine professional titles. Forms increasingly used by some journalists, bloggers, activists, academics, and younger urban speakers include:

авторка (avtorka — feminine form of “author”)

редакторка (redaktorka........

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