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From: mark@hp-pcd.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Re: is prejudice in the language? - (nf)
Message-ID: <1809@hp-pcd.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 10-Sep-83 03:39:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: hp-pcd.1809
Posted: Sat Sep 10 03:39:09 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 11-Sep-83 08:07:55 EDT
Sender: netnews@hp-pcd.UUCP
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Corvallis OR
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#R:rdin:-30500:hp-kirk:16500011:000:939
hp-kirk!mark    Sep  8 09:26:00 1983

I believe the suffix -man is generally genderless in use.
Certainly there are people who use it specifically to mean a
male, but this is not the common use.  As to using the term
fireman and female fireman, this is an unfortunate practice that
is due more to the male fireman stereotype than to any gender
associated with the suffix and is equivalent to the use of the
terms nurse and male nurse.

On a related note, it might be interesting to watch the evolving
use of the term housewife.  I think there is a good chance that
over the coming years we will see increasing numbers of "male
housewives" (househusband is such a clumsy term).  This may lead
to housewife eventually becoming a genderless expression.  (this
is just a prediction not a statement of what I feel should or not
be).
                    From the crystal ball of
                    Mark Rowe
                    hplabs!hp-pcd!mark
                    Corvallis, Or.