Quick Takes – The War on “Man”: The Word “Man”; The Comments of “Man”; The Existence of “Man”

     Another “quick takes” on items where there is too little to say to make a complete article, but is still important enough to comment on.

     The focus this time: Man, oh Man (but not in that way you cis-het perv)!

     First, a little mood music:

     Carrying on…

     Despite the fact that the word “man” was gender-neutral in Old English, with the word “woman” being a continuation of “female person” while “male person” lost any distinction, the war on the word “man” continues in all depths of pure DERP:

“Instead of ‘man and wife’ use spouses or partners. Switch out ‘man made’ with artificial, handmade or manufactured. Don’t use the verb ‘to man,’ as in to work something, instead use to operate or to staff. Throw out workmanlike and replace it with skillful.

“The memo goes on to list a variety of occupations that typically include the word ‘man’ in them and offers replacements: business person instead of businessman, firefighter instead of fireman, ancestors instead of forefathers, and so on.”

     Of course, just because “man” does not exist, does not mean that those who count as a “man” are not pushed aside…

“National Public Radio (NPR) is the latest online publication to eliminate public comments on its articles, defending the decision by saying few people actually comment, and those who do are typically older men.

“NPR says its decision to get rid of comments is mostly based on engagement.”

     It’s not like anyone listens to NPR anyways…

     The double-standard is, and always be, that distinctions don’t exist, yet people are evil oppressors because of pre-determined distinctions…

“There is a war on male and female, and a major battleground is the college campus, which is all too willing to embrace and advance the agenda.

“Consider the University of California system — which educates 233,000 students enrolled in 10 campuses statewide. Last year it added questions about gender identity and sexual orientation to its admissions applications, offering no less than six choices for students when checking off their ‘gender identity’” — male; female; trans male/trans man; trans female/trans woman; gender queer/gender non-conforming; and different identity.”

     TTFN.

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