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From: pc@hplabsb.UUCP (Patricia Collins)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: feeling/being left out
Message-ID: <1777@hplabsb.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 8-Aug-83 13:43:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: hplabsb.1777
Posted: Mon Aug  8 13:43:54 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 9-Aug-83 05:57:19 EDT
Organization: Hewlett Packard Labs, Palo Alto CA
Lines: 32


	"The current project needs more manpower."

	--What kind of people come to mind?

	The current project needs more staffing."

	--Now what kind of people come to mind?

	Words are powerful.  They both reflect and reinforce ways of
	thinking.  It is my experience that those who use gender-
	specific language THINK gender-specifically.  It does seem
	to be unnatural for many people to use genderless references,
	but that hardly seems a justification for reinforcing biased
	thinking with biased communications.

	Many people are getting more comfortable seeing women in engineering
	(etc) positions.  Perhaps more people will be comfortable thinking
	in unbiased terms if they hear less biased communication.  I'm
	much more comfortable with "staffing," "person-months," and
	"chairperson" than I am with "manpower," "man-months," and
	"chairman."  

	I hope that before long my colleagues will be comfortable with
	these significantly different terms (and concepts).

					Patricia Collins
					hplabs