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Subject:Re: "Man-months" offend some of your audience. From:Tracy Boyington <tracy_boyington -at- OKVOTECH -dot- ORG> Date:Tue, 27 Apr 1999 11:36:55 -0500
> I also find it interesting that the posters who are
> wondering "what's the big deal?" about using male pronouns generically are
> predominantly male. <g> Draw your own conclusion from that one.
It's interesting to me that when you say "I want to use gender-neutral
language," everybody assumes you want to get rid of male pronouns. I am
usually in the opposite situation -- my audience is traditionally
female, and the tendency is to use female pronouns. So when I try to use
gender-neutral language instead, am I still a radical, immature,
PC-spouting feminazi, or am I simply being thoughtful and inclusive? ;-)
And for those who insist that "he" is perfectly neutral and suits
everyone, be honest -- do you use "he" when referring to a secretary or
nurse or day care provider?
Tracy
who thinks Jason's suggestions for new neutral words would be a boon for
Scrabble players
--
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Tracy Boyington mailto:tracy_boyington -at- okvotech -dot- org
Oklahoma Dept. of Vocational & Technical Education
Curriculum & Instructional Materials Center
Stillwater, Oklahoma http://www.okvotech.org/cimc/
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