Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site sbcs.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!cmcl2!philabs!sbcs!debray
From: debray@sbcs.UUCP (Saumya Debray)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: rectangle analogy & sexism in language
Message-ID: <615@sbcs.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 5-Apr-84 09:46:33 EST
Article-I.D.: sbcs.615
Posted: Thu Apr  5 09:46:33 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Apr-84 04:34:11 EST
References: <4348@amd70.UUCP>
Organization: SUNY at Stony Brook
Lines: 30

amd70!phil (Phil Ngai):

	> Sorry, I guess I just think male when I see "man". Does
	> anyone else have this "problem"?

I hesitate to bring up (once again!) a topic that, to my recollection, has
come and gone(?) at least thrice before on the net, but:

I'm not sure how serious Phil is.  Surely he doesn't think "male holes" when
he sees a manhole in the street?  How about "One small step for a man, a
giant leap for mankind" -- can he seriously propose that the sentence refers
to males exclusively (try the substituted "one small step for a male, a
giant leap for all males" ... )?  Perhaps man-eating sharks have no
appetite for female humans?  Are all college freshMEN males (not here at
Stony Brook, no siree!)?

I haven't seen any answers to Phil's question, "does anyone else have this
problem?", but for those who *do* have this problem, I suggest that some
serious rethinking might well be in order.



-- 
Saumya Debray, 	SUNY at Stony Brook

	uucp:
	    {cbosgd, decvax, ihnp4, mcvax, cmcl2}!philabs \
		    {amd70, akgua, decwrl, utzoo}!allegra  > !sbcs!debray
	       		{teklabs, hp-pcd, metheus}!ogcvax /
	CSNet: debray@suny-sbcs@CSNet-Relay