Feminine job titles

[benb]

This fad for not using the feminine when describing some professions pisses me off for some reason. In our newspaper this Sunday there was a picture of an actress, can't remember who, and they called her an actor in the picture caption. WTF is wrong with calling her an actress ??

Well you wouldn't refer to a doctor as a doctress would you?

In general, having gender distinctions in job titles is unnecessary and slightly offensive.

 

[Oxo]

Well you wouldn't refer to a doctor as a doctress would you?

In general, having gender distinctions in job titles is unnecessary and slightly offensive.

How would you refer to a 'mistress' in a none gender specific way?

 

[benb]

How would you refer to a 'mistress' in a none gender specific way?

That's why I said "in general". There are some areas where it's impossible.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

How would you refer to a 'mistress' in a none gender specific way?

What is the male equivelent of a Mistress? Is Mistress a job title or a role anyway?

 

[Yellow Fang]

In the same vein, anyone want to start a debate on the "singular they"

Actually there was one, but when it became contentious it was moved to P&L, and has now ceased to exist.

Had this information been made available or had you made it up?

Would it now change your mind if the author was non-white, poor as a church mouse and in their late teens?

And were they gay or staight in your head? Short or tall? Fat or thin? What about hair colour? Did they have children? Married or single? Mad or not mad?

In the absence of other information, I assumed the author's background was broadly similar to the speaker's. You'd need a lot of endings to describe all those characteristics.

 

[oliglynn]

When the job title refers to something obviously gender specific, for example including "man", "master", "mistress" etc within the title, then that's in my mind where it becomes offensive to use the wrong gender specification.

Would somebody introduce themselves as a repairman over the phone and then turn out to be a woman? No. Most probably not. Unless they were a bit wrong in the head maybe?

It also seems that for less gender-descript job titles (Author etc) the all-encompassing term always seems to be the male version. Could this perhaps be because of past discrimination and lack of rights women wish to show themselves to be on equal footing with men? Or is it just that men would get rather offended if their title were to be feminised?

 

[Melonfish]

Well you wouldn't refer to a doctor as a doctress would you?

In general, having gender distinctions in job titles is unnecessary and slightly offensive.

See i would argue the opposite, actor and actress being a prime example.
you would not call an actor an actress, so why call an actress an actor?
surely this is gender biased from the male perspective? pushing a male name upon a female that i find offensive and i'm not even a woman.

i find it hilarious that were we to do this the other way there would be noise made no end, yet some women accept a male title as making them seem equal when in fact its pushing upon them more gender repression.

makes me think of "metrosexuals" because it nowdays its considered derogatory or even offensive to refer to oneself (as a man) as a gentleman. i feel this is all part and parcel of the struggle we face daily with gender inequalities and we are at risk of loosing our identities as male/female through compromise.
pete

 

[benb]

See i would argue the opposite, actor and actress being a prime example.
you would not call an actor an actress, so why call an actress an actor?
surely this is gender biased from the male perspective? pushing a male name upon a female that i find offensive and i'm not even a woman.

i find it hilarious that were we to do this the other way there would be noise made no end, yet some women accept a male title as making them seem equal when in fact its pushing upon them more gender repression.

makes me think of "metrosexuals" because it nowdays its considered derogatory or even offensive to refer to oneself (as a man) as a gentleman. i feel this is all part and parcel of the struggle we face daily with gender inequalities and we are at risk of loosing our identities as male/female through compromise.
pete

You couldn't be more wrong.
Actor is gender neutral, not specifically male - check a dictionary. The term actress has been forced onto female actors in order to differentiate them from male actors.

I'm pretty sure most female actors prefer to be called actor rather than actress, or they would be kicking up a fuss about it, so your taking of offense by proxy is misplaced.

I also don't know of any movement that considers referring to yourself as a "gentleman" derogatory or offensive. Are you perhaps looking for examples of "political correctness gone mad" when none exist?

 

[Oxo]

Is Mistress a job title or a role anyway?

It's only a role when some kind of uniform is involved.

 

[Yellow Fang]

Mariella Frostrup was annoyed with Sebastian Faulkes on Open Book when he refused to include the term 'heroine' for a female hero in his essay on literary heroes. A lot of the female listeners were annoyed with him too.

 

[benb]

Mariella Frostrup was annoyed with Sebastian Faulkes on Open Book when he refused to include the term 'heroine' for a female hero in his essay on literary heroes. A lot of the female listeners were annoyed with him too.

Well they were all wrong too, as hero is non gender specific.

 

[MontyVeda]

Spooky coincidence that you should say this. On Saturday we overtook an AA breakdown van on our journey and in that van was an AA lady, not an AA man.

I would not care if it was an AA lady or an AA man that turned up, as long as they could get me on my way again.

Progress!

When i started my YTS in 1985 as a diesel fitter there was a girl on the course training as a mechanic (long before Charlene on Neighbours) ... people claimed she wouldn't be strong enough to lift a cylinder head off the engine block or perform other heavy tasks. As i worked on the buses everything weighed a ton, so there was nowt wrong with asking a colleague to give a helping hand... so even there, strength shouldn't be an issue (plus I'm a scrawny lanky git and probably no stronger than the average girl)

edited... there, their, doh!

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Progress!

When i started my YTS in 1985 as a diesel fitter there was a girl on the course training as a mechanic (long before Charlene on Neighbours) ... people claimed she wouldn't be strong enough to lift a cylinder head off the engine block or perform other heavy tasks. As i worked on the buses everything weighed a ton, so there was nowt wrong with asking a colleague to give a helping hand... so even their, strength shouldn't be an issue (plus I'm a scrawny lanky git and probably no stronger than the average girl)

The only thing women do worse than men is er...... nothing.

 

[Mad at urage]

The only thing women do worse than men is er...... nothing.

Well, medical science is nearly there yes, but not really yet able to make this true in humans (AFAIK).

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Well, medical science is nearly there yes, but not really yet able to make this true in humans (AFAIK).

You've lost me.