From: utzoo!decvax!decwrl!sun!megatest!fortune!hpda!hplabs!hao!cires!nbires!zhahai
Newsgroups: net.women
Title: re: non-sexist pronouns
Article-I.D.: nbires.137
Posted: Fri Apr 22 22:02:45 1983
Received: Sat Apr 30 00:27:34 1983
References: yale-com.1366

To those in favor of establishing new non-sexist pronouns: I wish you luck,
and I will be an early supporter if it ever gains any momentum.  I personally
think it would help counter sexism *some*, mainly by bringing it to peoples
attention; the anology with nigger/black etc. has some bearing.  Try this:
type "nigger".  Do you feel any internal reaction?  Does it break your smooth
automatic thought processes any?  (I should have said, type it in a sentence;
really do it, not just think about how you would react).  After noticing such
a word-flag, one gets a subtle reinforcement for how one beleives about the
social issue involved.  (of course, for some, it is a negative reaction; I've
also met people who still use "nigger" comfortably).  In the long run, of course
 this (a new pronoun) would just become natural - but that is fine with me, for
it is a useful semantic distinction, even apart from non-sexism.  And, to me,
more "aesthetic", if you will.  I would like the language to have such a
construct.

BUT, I suspect that those who argue that structural words like pronouns are hard
to change are right.  I got tired of fighting those things, and adding 'noise'
to the real point I was trying to make in a conversation or paper.  If you
still want to try to change it, go for it; how will the language evolve if 
nobody tries?  (How will we overcome sexism if nobody tries?)  As long as you
don't get haughty or righteous about it, nothing's hurt, eh?

By the way, at Twin Oaks (a long standing communal group in Va.) they appear to
use the word "co" (if I recall rightly - maybe it was "per") very consistently,
in real everday speech as well as more formal occasions (written agreements).
I don't know that that in itself makes them non-sexist, but it does symbolize
their commitment in that direction (to them and to us).

I also have a fondness (minor) for names which do not imply the gender of their
owners.

(( I hereby appologize if I've contributed to an overextended discussion which
should have moved to net.nlang; all I can say is that this issue has always
been more associated with feminism for me than with language per se, although
vaguely informed by the latter))

			(not a pseudonym)
			Zhahai Spring Stewart
			NBI, Inc.  Boulder CO
			{ucbvax|allegra}!nbires!zhahai