RE: Checking assumptions at the door?

Subject: RE: Checking assumptions at the door?
From: "SM Rush" <sellar -at- apptechsys -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 16:50:41 -0700

>>Opinions to the contrary notwithstanding, "he" _is_ considered inclusive
in
modern discourse because it's become, for better or worse, the default.<<

If anyone seriously needs proof that "inclusiveness" was not the intent of
using "he" in most documentation, take a look at written material dealing
with the traditionally female professions such as nursing and secretarial
jobs. You'll find "she" used liberally, with nary a "he" to be found except
when references bosses or doctors. All sorts of assumptions being made
here, even up to the 1970s.

Note: this of course refers to the 20th century, as prior to then
secretaries were usually male, and nursing prior to Nightingale was often
regarded as one of the lowest of the low unskilled jobs.

It would be interesting to see if the same holds true for documentation such
as cookbooks and sewing patterns. It certainly was for non-documentation
writing, such as magazine articles, etiquette books. I suppose an argument
could be made that the audiences for these would be nearly exclusively
female and so the "default" would be inappropriate. But not by me.

And let's not forget how likely it was for *working-class* women to be able
to read back in the seventeenth/eighteenth centuries.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com

Sponsored by Cub Lea, specialist in low-cost outsourced development
and documentation. Overload and time-sensitive jobs at exceptional
rates. Unique free gifts for all visitors to http://www.cublea.com

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


References:
Checking assumptions at the door?: From: Hart, Geoff

Previous by Author: RE: XML - where's the beef?
Next by Author: vocabulary for web application docs?
Previous by Thread: Re: Checking assumptions at the door?
Next by Thread: Re: Checking assumptions at the door?


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads