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From: ucbesvax.turner@ucbcad.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Girl vs. Woman vs. Gal vs. ... - (nf)
Message-ID: <1071@ucbcad.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 18-Dec-83 01:57:45 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbcad.1071
Posted: Sun Dec 18 01:57:45 1983
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#R:azure:-241400:ucbesvax:10300027:000:1509
ucbesvax!turner    Dec 11 18:35:00 1983

Frank Adrian suggests that there was a time when calling women "girls" 
was not "politically unacceptable"; he also feels that the change is
a change in the *language* (not the politics?), and vows to do his best
to change his own useage, provided that he is not "scolded harshly".
(Frank, you poor boy--did your mother nag you a lot?)

Of course, from a feminist viewpoint (which is where this supposed
"language change" is springing from) calling women "girls" has never
been politically acceptable.  But I don't think that Cindy found such
usage "politically unacceptable", per se.  Rather, she seems to find it
personally *objectionable*.

"Woman" is not a new word.  "Girl" has not changed its meaning.  What
is changing is women's willingness to be called girls.  I am not referring
here to conversation among equals--as when men call each other "boys".
But when the male boss of an office calls the "girls" for an announcement,
that is not an exchange among equals.

Perhaps women will turn around on this point in the future--when it is
equally acceptable for them to call men "boys" on a basis of familiarity
and equality.  Today, still, these conditions do not exist, either in
the home or at work or in public life.  Society (not language) is changing
slowly.  And progress toward equality has been a frustrating process of
two steps forward, one step back.  In this case, using the *literal*
meanings of terms like "girl" and "woman" is a step forward.
---
Michael Turner (ucbvax!ucbesvax.turner)