When I am working on a project, I am a craftswoman, usually (to be specific)
a seamstress. To my mind, it is the insistance on calling me a craftsperson
that somehow implies that there is something inherently unequal about my
being a female who makes things, as opposed to a male who makes things. I'm
a woman. I'm proud of it, without in any way feeling that a man should be
any less proud of being a man. I have no issues about being identified as a
woman. HOWEVER, it is generally understood that in the English language
(and most others) the male plural is used for groups containing both
genders. While the historical and linguistic roots of this practise may
involve notions of male superiority, I do not believe that most people who
use it nowadays do so with the intention to imply that the woman in such a
group are of less importance that the men. They are simply being concise in
accordance with common practise. Those who do have an issue with it are
certainly entitled to use whatever word they prefer, of course; I'm just
stating my opinion that it is they who are assigning the matter a weight
that it might otherwise never have possessed.
--Katerin
"I refuse to give up my share in mankind."
--Madeleine L'Engle
From: "Samantha M. Pendleton" <katerinfg2@hotmail.com>
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Received on Tue Oct 26 06:52:49 2004
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