Sexist Words

[natural20]

You know what a sexist word is?
Wench.
But it wouldn't be if there were a male equivalent, right?
That's why Knave exists.
See?
We just need to balance everything out by being increasingly sexist towards each side.

But a wench is only a woman who pours the ale in a tavern. Or a woman who drinks a lot of ale...

A Game of Thrones, right?
You are a funny man.
It's really just one example, though.

Dragon Age: Origins, actually.

I thought "Stableboy" was the masculine equivalent of "Wench"...

 

[LilithSlave]

I make a little bit of an effort, personally.

In some instances more than others.

 

[ultrachicken]

Eh, I just wish we would pick a gender to have all these gender specific nouns to lean towards. Make things simpler.

 

[Naeo]

Some things I don't take issue with--"chairman" becoming "chairperson" or just "chair", "flight attendant" replacing "stewardess," etc--but the phenomenon of "if it has 'man' or 'men' in it, change it to 'person'" (which I have never seriously run up against, I'll grant) seems absolutely ludicrous.

 

[LilithSlave]

It's only a matter of time before these things become mandatory in schools.

"Women of noncolor". That itself doesn't seem politically correct to me.

Considering that considering people of "color" has historically troublesome connotations.

In fact it would be better if we dropped terms like "white" to refer to people as well. If people want to call someone by their ethnic descent, they can call them that. We're all originally of African descent anyway. And if you want to mention a person's looks, mention a person's looks properly. Call someone "light skinned", or "dark skinned" or "tan skinned" if they are. Say they have a small nose if they have a small nose, a round face if they have a round face, a long nose if they have a long nose, or something like that. Most "black" people are brown to begin with.

Wanting to use terms that don't have bad implications isn't a bad thing. Or even inaccurate terms. That some people find it more offensive to say "that man with large lips" rather than "that black man" is silly.

I mean, if you have to, have to call people out by their physical features, just call them by them, instead of culturally loaded terms that establish outdated cultural ideas.

 

[Racecarlock]

What next? Am I going to have to refer to a "Black Hole" as an "African-american hole"?

 

[LilithSlave]

Why must people make ridiculous comparisons to using inoffensive terms lacking in racist or sexist baggage?

 

[MagnetoHydroDynamics]

I think that those who would strive to have gender-neutrality of language should speak Lojban, and leave English to us who can appreciate a good "horseman" once in a while.

You know what is a bigger issue? English almost can't describe Time Travel verb tenses at all!

 

[Stublore]

I mus admit I am very niggardly with respect to words which need to change.
Making language essentially dull, boring and unable to actually communicate accurately seems to be the intention.
Why should we change words because they might possibly conceivably in some usages be seen offensive?
Some people perhaps,might, possibly be better of by growing a pair, or getting thicker skin.
Their is no such thing as the right not to be offended, but there seems to be a dearth of understanding on some peoples behalf about language.

 

[Lerasai]

im not a big fan of "broad". SOmething about it just seems... so... 20's sexist xD

Awww, but 20's sexist is so classy.

In all seriousness, I'm not big for actively fiddling with terms out of hypersensitivity, but I do think that words hold a lot of power. If you can change a word for something you can change the way people see it. So, if changing the word means making it apply to a broader range of people then isn't it worth it that those people now feel as if that word can apply to them? If that makes any sense.

Even if you don't believe all that, though, "That's the way we've always said it" isn't a good reason to keep a word the same and language will evolve whether you like it or not.

 

[smearyllama]

You know what a sexist word is?
Wench.
But it wouldn't be if there were a male equivalent, right?
That's why Knave exists.
See?
We just need to balance everything out by being increasingly sexist towards each side.

But a wench is only a woman who pours the ale in a tavern. Or a woman who drinks a lot of ale...

A Game of Thrones, right?
You are a funny man.
It's really just one example, though.

Dragon Age: Origins, actually.

Right. Now I remember.
I actually only played a little of that game, since I find the combat really frustrating, but I remember that.
That game is really similar to A Song of Ice and Fire, though, if just in writing.
They even give the main character a giant dog...

 

[Thaluikhain]

If we care enough to defend a term from change, then we're admitting it's important, which in turn means the people wanting to change said term to something more neutral, have a point.

That's a very good point.

Overall, I'm not that bothered. I think quibbling over terms like "manhole cover" is a waste of time -particularly in light of some of the more pressing gender inequality issues

I disagree. Firstly, you don't ever run out of gender equality points, you don't have to stop discussing minor issues for fear you wont have enough to tackle the big ones.

Secondly, saying "man" to mean "person" is a comparatively small inequality, but it's still a part of a hole. Such things don't spring out of nowhere, and neither do the bigger, more important ones, they are built on a culture that tolerates (or worse, encourages) inequality.

 

[Avatar Roku]

I often wind up using gender neutral terms (like flight attendant, for example) because they tend to be more specific, and I generally prefer that.
Though certain gender neutral terms just don't quite sound right.
Anyone else remember the Woodsperson thing from Hey Arnold?
"Woodsperson? What the Heck is a Woodsperson?"
"We used to call them Woodsmen back where I come from, only that's Politically incorrect."

Man, How did that stick in my head word-for-word all these years..?

I remember that episode! *drifts into nostalgia*

Anyways, you got reprimanded for referring to a country as "she"? Why the hell is it called "America, the Beautiful" then? Are they saying America is a beautiful guy? And what about ships? They are always referred to in the feminine. Even if you called the ship "it", what do you call the first voyage? That's right...the "maiden voyage", a feminine term.

Sorry, that just bugs me. They didn't call the Stephen King book "Christopher", now did they?

I feel the need to bring some useless trivia in here; according to American custom, other American ships are referred to as female, allied ships are male, and enemy ships are "it". The more you know!

 

[Woodsey]

"Recently, I got reprimanded in class for using "she" when referring to a country."

Probably because countries don't have a gender. Sounds like you were reprimanded for being incorrect, not sexist.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

Did you know that there are actually gender-neutral pronouns?

I learned them a couple years ago on a blog called the Slacktivist, and recently had reason to employ them, and teach them to several other friends. Yay for a chance to look smart!

Yeah. I had to go to my schools rainbow brigade (GSA club) as per an agreement with my friend who is their vice president and they went on about them for quite a while. The president actually demands to be referred to by these idiotic non-words.

I am in favor of gay rights and such, but people who want to be called shit like "ze" instead of he and her hurt the cause more than help it. That sort of nonsense is the reason I only show up to GSA when my attendance is part of some sort of deal.

edit-

"Recently, I got reprimanded in class for using "she" when referring to a country."

Probably because countries don't have a gender. Sounds like you were reprimanded for being incorrect, not sexist.

In American English it is common to refer to the homeland as "she". I don't know if the person you're quoting is American or if he was even referring to the homeland, but it is not uncommon to do this in America.