Through the experiment comparing the math outcomes of women under two various gender-math stereotype components, which are the ability of math and the effort on math respectively, Thoman and others found that women's math performance is more likely to be affected by the negative ability stereotype, which is influenced by sociocultural beliefs in the United States, rather than the effort component. As a result of this experiment and the sociocultural beliefs in the United States, Thoman and others concluded that individuals' academic outcomes can be affected by the gender-math stereotype component that is influenced by the sociocultural beliefs. In language Sexism in language exists when language devalues members of a certain gender. Sexist language, in many instances, promotes male superiority. Sexism in language affects consciousness, perceptions of reality, encoding and transmitting cultural meanings and socialization. Researchers have pointed to the semantic rule in operation in language of the male-as-norm. This results in sexism as the male becomes the standard and those who are not male are relegated to the inferior. Sexism in language is considered a form of indirect sexism because it is not always overt. Examples include: Using generic masculine terms to reference a group of mixed gender, such as "mankind", "man" (referring to humanity), "guys", or "officers and men" Using the singular masculine pronoun (he, his, him) as the default to refer to a person of unknown gender Terms ending in "-man" that may be performed by those of non-male genders, such as businessman, chairman, or policeman Using unnecessary gender markers, such as "male nurse" implying that simply a "nurse" is by default assumed to be female. Sexist and gender-neutral language Various 20th century feminist movements, from liberal feminism and radical feminism to standpoint feminism, postmodern feminism and queer theory, have considered language in their theorizing. Most of these theories have maintained a critical stance on language that calls for a change in the way speakers use their language. One of the most common calls is for gender-neutral language. Many have called attention, however, to the fact that the English language is not inherently sexist in its linguistic system, but the way it is used becomes sexist and gender-neutral language could thus be employed. Sexism in languages other than English Romanic languages such as French and Spanish may be seen as reinforcing sexism, in that the masculine form is the default. The word "mademoiselle", meaning "miss", was declared