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 #32 (permalink) Wed May 14, 2008 22:55 pm Marital age |
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| Quote: |
| The generic he does not trigger that reaction in modern women. |
What's "a modern woman"?
Be sure, the use of the generic he gives your writing a pre-70s' feel. Are you really so old? |
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Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 4017
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| #33 (permalink) Wed May 14, 2008 23:30 pm Marital age |
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| Molly wrote: |
| Quote: |
| The generic he does not trigger that reaction in modern women. |
What's "a modern woman"?
Be sure, the use of the generic he gives your writing a pre-70s' feel. |
Actually it doesn't. Almost all the women students in my classes who are in their early 20s prefer to use the generic he because they say it sounds "gender neutral" to them. One day they were yelling about how much they hated being forced by their old feminist professors to use clumsy constructions from the 1960s, such as "his/her", "s/he" (which just says "she" anyway), and dumb things like that, in which to them the slash reads like a hiccup. They were really mad about it, and many of them felt relieved that I let them use whatever pronoun they wanted to.
Actually, yelping every time someone doesn't use a "gender inclusive" pronoun is what makes a person sound old and retrograde -- or European. Or like a recovering victim of physical abuse. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #34 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 0:03 am Marital age |
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| Quote: |
| Almost all the women students in my classes who are in their early 20s prefer to use the generic he because they say it sounds "gender neutral" to them. |
| Quote: |
| makes a person sound old and retrograde -- or European. |
LOL! Another desperate "I know women who" rant. When you need women, you certainly do use them, Jamie. And your anti-European stance is showing again.
Can we also expect your "makes one sound effeminate" to rear its head again soon?
:lol: |
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Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 4017
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| #35 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 0:08 am Marital age |
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| Molly wrote: |
| LOL! Another desperate "I know women who" rant. When you need women, you certainly do use them, Jamie. And your anti-European stance is showing again. |
What's wrong with telling the truth? I'm not lying or exaggerating, just refuting your worldview.
A couple years ago, my state had a referendum on abolishing quotas and preferences for minorities and women in government hiring and contracting, and in public education. The debate was hilarious in some ways, because it was all young women versus old women. The younger women were talking about how everyone should be hired on their merits, and that such preferences were unjust. The old women would insist, "We still need these preferences, because in the 1960s, when I finished college..."
Face it, Molly, the world has changed. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #36 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 0:59 am Marital age |
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| Your world? So it's case of "if you're not with us, you're against us", is it? |
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Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 4017
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| #37 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 1:14 am Marital age |
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| No, it's a case of "you're not aware, you're oblivious". |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #38 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 1:30 am Marital age |
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| I'm not oblivious to the fact that you invent a friend/friends to support your every argument. |
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Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 4017
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| #39 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 1:35 am Marital age |
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| Those students were definitely NOT invented. You seem unable to comprehend that there are women who don't subscribe to your worldview. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #40 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 1:45 am Marital age |
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Believe me, I know women of all persuasions. I also know many men and women whose collection of collocations goes like this:
I knew someone once who..
I have a friend who...
I was married to a woman once who..
I have lots of friends who..
My brother is a...
My cousin worked for X and she says..
Need I go on? |
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Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 4017
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| #41 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 1:57 am Marital age |
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| They're probably telling the truth. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #42 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 5:30 am Marital age |
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we have a saying in china: it is ok for husbands to be 7 years older, and for the wives 1 year older.
( i have to use such a long sentence to explain a 4-word chinese idiom >_< ) |
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Underdog
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 18 Sep 2007
Posts: 54
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| #43 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 7:22 am Marital age |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: |
| They're probably telling the truth. |
Desperate, more like. |
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Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 4017
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| #44 (permalink) Thu May 15, 2008 19:36 pm Marital age |
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*shrugs*
I don't see why any "woman" should, or would, prefer to use "generic he"(?) to make herself more comfortable... does not make sense. In fact, I don't think I have ever encountered something like that on any of the three universities here. Unless you are working on something related to the Bible (or such) there is no need for her to use a generic "he."
Besides, gender neutral way of writing seems to be all the fad lately... not to mention it seems to be more politically correct... it does make more sense on occasion too.
Btw. I just finished reading the entire thread, again... I was trying to find exact point where the conversation jumped to this talk about "generic he" and "modern woman." I found it ( I think). It reminded me of the tv show.... what was is... weakest/missing or something link.. or something like that :D. |
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AngieD
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 08 May 2008
Posts: 18
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| #45 (permalink) Fri May 16, 2008 15:02 pm Marital age |
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| In Poland the most common age difference is 5 years. |
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 Magda21
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 20 Apr 2008
Posts: 21
Location: Poland
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| Paris and Spain | The benefits of learning language in the country where it is spoken? |
