A viral post sparked debate over whether Microsoft Word’s grammar checker shows hidden bias, but the truth is more technical than cultural. Office Watch investigated and found that Word and Google Docs simply make different choices about what to flag in grammar suggestions. There’s no homophobia here, just decisions that shape how language tools interpret relationships and gendered terms.
This post is doing the rounds on socials.
We do NOT think Google is being “homophobic”. More likely they’ve decided to warn customers of a possible gender mismatch since most partnerships are between ‘straight’ people.
The Google blue underline is a warning or suggestion, just like the same in Word, there’s no obligation to accept the suggestion.
At Office Watch we wondered what Word does in the same situation. Answer: nothing!
We tried several English dialects (US, Canada, UK and Australia), none has blue underlines.
In addition, the Grammar and Refinements settings doesn’t have any choice that might relate to a gender mismatch. That’s a little surprising since there are other, more specific options in those settings.
There’s no homophobia going on at Google. It’s just a different decision about what to warn customers about in the grammar checks. Microsoft appears to have made another choice. Both choices are reasonable.
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