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From: tjj@ssc-vax.UUCP (T J Jardine)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Genderfree terms in language.
Message-ID: <423@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Aug-83 15:39:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: ssc-vax.423
Posted: Wed Aug 17 15:39:38 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 19-Aug-83 01:41:12 EDT
References: <1967@utcsrgv.UUCP>, <887@utcsstat.UUCP>
Organization: Boeing Aerospace, Seattle
Lines: 26

Some light has finally been shed on this topic, even if possibly by accident!
It appears that the battle between those who think that English should become
a genderless language and those who oppose that view is equivalent to the
battle between the smokers and the non-smokers (yes, my asbestos suit is on!).
The light that seems to have appeared regarding gender-free terms is that it
is not the WORDS that are the object of dislike, but the EXPECTATIONS that
are associated/held with respect to males and females.  When we (male or
female) place a telephone call to someone of the male persuasion at what we
understand to be a business office location and a person answers the phone
with a voice which sounds obviously female, what is the picture that we have
in our mind that provides a model for us of this situation?  I would expect
that a significant percentage would immediately bring to mind the role of a
manager and secretary.  However, if we knew the company employed a large
number of engineers, that the person we were telephoning was one of them,
and we had experience with the model of an engineer's office as a place where
387 people share the same window, then our model of the situation would be
different, and consequently our response would be as well.

Obviously, then, what we need to do is change the models people use to handle
various kinds of situations.  This seems to me a far more challenging, and
therefor worthwhile, task than merely trying to rid ourselves of every
occurrence of 'man' in referring to the gentler (have you ever seen a
female wrestler?) sex.

TJ (with Amazing Grace) The Piper
ssc-vax!tjj