Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!aero-c!nadel
From: jan@oas.olivetti.com (Jan Parcel)
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: "Woman" or "Girl"?
Message-ID: <49630@ricerca.UUCP>
Date: 14 May 91 04:59:03 GMT
References: <1991May13.223727.8721@aero.org>
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Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA
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In article <1991May13.223727.8721@aero.org> NRILEY@BOOTES.UNM.EDU (Natalie Riley Osorio) writes:
>  My feeling is that an even bigger problem lies in the stigmatism that
>apparently exists in being called a "girl," or for that matter, a "woman"
>as opposed to "womyn," etc. These words should not imply one who is " weak,
>naive, and stupid " or anything else. It seems to me that part of the reason
>these words have derrogatory implications is that people are insisting they
>are derrogatory. I am interested in hearing what other people feel about this.

If there are 20 engineers in an office, say, 10 women and 10 men, and
the men are referred to as men, and the women as girls, that is saying
"adults" vs. "children"

IMHO, in any context where the men are men, the women are women.  I'm
39, and got used to being called a woman as I got used to being called
Mrs., back when I had a baby... but I've heard 45-year-old men talk about
poker with "the boys" and 45-year-old women talking about "girls' night
out."

So, part of your problem may be that you are sitting on the border.
Certainly, if you take the average competence and strength of *all*
'legal' boys and girls, that is, birth to age 18, you come up with less
capability on average than would be expected of an adult.  Also, "boy"
and "girl" have been used as slave or servant terms, mostly referring to
adults in jobs which *should* be kids' jobs, or else mechanized.

~~~ jan@orc.olivetti.com   or    jan@oas.olivetti.com  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We must worship Universal Consciousness as each of the 5 genders in turn
if we wish to be fully open to Yr glory.
						-- St. Xyphlb of Alpha III