"David Abrahams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message [EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]... > [...] > how does that make Victor's point?
Historically, the masculine gender was used to denote an anonymous person, with no intended message about the superiority of any gender. It isn't until very recently, with the advent of political correctness and "inclusive language" have we turned this tradition into an accusation of chauvinism and misogyny, despite the well-meaning intentions of unwitting authors. The idea that we have to cater to every possible way that someone could be offended is a bit *intolerant*, if you ask me. I certainly don't condone the use of inflammatory language designed to cause conflict or spark controversy. On the other hand, I think our society could be a little more laid back, and not assume that so many things we say are meant to imply something derogatory. > Engineering departments, conferences, seminars and newsgroups > filled only with men do tend to get boring, don't you think? Yes! > An argument can be made that using "he" everywhere makes the field > less-welcoming to women. Yes, such arguments can and are regularly made. I personally find them less than convincing. Some men are bothered by the term "male nurse", especially when applied to them. One man was so bothered by it that he shot three of his nursing school professors (or something like that). Yet I don't hear any calls for "inclusive language" in this regard. In my experience, the number one reason women don't go into engineering fields is not because they feel unwelcome, but because engineering disciplines simply don't interest them. While there are certainly still elements that discourage women from engineering, I find there is a growing, perhaps even majority crowd that welcomes, and even panders to female engineers of all persuasions. When I went to school, the female computer science students often got special breaks on tests and projects, because the department was so concerned that they succeed. Of course, none of it was official, but the idea that engineering is unwelcoming to women is less and less defensible, in my opinion. And I certainly never met CS or engineering students that complained that there were too many women in their classes, or that they would not welcome more! > If I can do some small part to counteract that, so much the better. And I don't mind that at all. To each his own. I think Victor was merely expressing the frustration of having society tell him how he ought to speak, write, and even think with regards to PC. And even though I am not really bothered by inclusive language, I agree that it is frustrating when an overzealous liberal (not you, but I'm sure we've all met them) insists that everyone use it. The main reason I am bothered by such insistence is not the idea that someone is telling me what to do so much as the implication that if I don't do it, I am myself a misogynistic pig. It is *that* implication that offends my honor and gives me a distaste for political correctness. I'm all for more women in computing. ;) Dave _______________________________________________ Unsubscribe & other changes: http://lists.boost.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/boost
