Risker wrote:
I confess that this post made me smile. Back in the day when my feminist
streak was first being nurtured, the differentiation of men and women doing the
same job by the use of suffixes was a major thorn in the side of most
feminists. Over time, there was often a complete change in terminology, e.g.
steward/stewardess to flight attendant, or "manholes" becoming maintenance
accesses since not everyone working in them was a man. Some occupations dropped
the 'feminine" suffix entirely, usually as that was the preference of the women
who worked within that field. ("Comedian" and "actor" are particularly
noteworthy examples.)
It seems we may be coming full circle, in that an increasing number of
feminist women are seeking to return to the sex-differentiated terms.
My observation:
As I noted a long time ago, at the beginning of this list, yoga (a field
overwhelmingly, but hardly of necessity, female) is a notable exception, so
many female practitioners embrace "yogini", the female form of "yogi."
Daniel Case _______________________________________________
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