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Subject:The myth of sexist language From:Joanna Sheldon <cjs10 -at- CORNELL -dot- EDU> Date:Sat, 5 Aug 1995 20:00:12 -0400
Callie writes
> Is it our useage of the words HIStory, MANkind, and the huMAN race that are
>the cause of the long oppression of the feMALE half of the huMAN race.?
>Poppycock and balderdash!
> If words had that effect on us, why ... how about other languages? In
>Spanish, the HIStory of MANkind becomes LA historiA de LA razA (all feminine
>words). They have LA libertad, LA igualdad, and LA fraternidad. Latin
>America should be a bastion of female power and influence.
I know of no one who would maintain that words are the *cause* of oppression.