Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!iuvax!bsu-cs!dhesi
From: dhesi@bsu-cs.UUCP (Rahul Dhesi)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: sexist language
Message-ID: <4801@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Date: 17 Nov 88 20:21:03 GMT
References: <17574@adm.BRL.MIL>
Reply-To: dhesi@bsu-cs.UUCP (Rahul Dhesi)
Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana
Lines: 13

(I suppose this needs a good followup-to header, but which one?)

In article <17574@adm.BRL.MIL> rbj@nav.icst.nbs.gov (Root Boy Jim) writes:
>I suppose we should bring up the distinction of
>Miss/Mrs. vs having only Mr. for men.

This is not an arbitrary distinction.  Men have always done the
courting and the women have always waited to be asked.  Thus the
practice developed (in more than one language, in more than one
culture, in more than one era) of single women identifying themselves
as such, so that men would know whom to court and whom to leave alone.
-- 
Rahul Dhesi         UUCP:  <backbones>!{iuvax,pur-ee}!bsu-cs!dhesi