Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site decwrl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!mcnc!decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot From: chabot@amber.DEC (l s chabot) Newsgroups: net.nlang,net.women Subject: Re: Gender-specific responses to s/he Message-ID: <206@decwrl.UUCP> Date: Mon, 14-Jan-85 13:36:43 EST Article-I.D.: decwrl.206 Posted: Mon Jan 14 13:36:43 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 18-Jan-85 00:45:15 EST Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP Organization: DEC Engineering Network Lines: 38 Xref: watmath net.nlang:2414 net.women:4113 Alternatives to "Ms." (-: proposed since "Ms." evidentally horrifies some amongst us :-) : Well, personally, in these happy days of arrived-equality :-!, the term "Mr.", pronounced "mister" is incorrect: it is derived from "master", and therefore is technically and politically wrong wrong WRONG! >ahem< , because men aren't masters of anything any more than women are [ (-: previously, would this sentence have been "...because men aren't masters of anything any more than women" ? :-) ]. Soooo, we could replace "Ms." with "Mr." (or even replace "Mr." with "Ms.", since the latter provides an equivalently appealing abbreviation for "mister"/"master"), denoting the equal status, but I would rather propose alternate honorifics to encompass all sexes at once. :-) "Ma'am." This handy little honorific already exists as an excepted or "Mam." (American) english word. We're just going to change the or "Mamm." meaning to denote "Ma-a-a-ammal" (ba-a-a-a-a-a). Or, perhaps or "Mm." it could be short for "Mammonite" (from human beings being the only mammals to worship money). ["Mammonite" could also be abbrev. "Mme."] {Another abbreviation for "Mammal", "ML", has been reported to already be in use in certain circles (or "hoops").} "NH" Meaning "No Honorific" (similar to "NMI" and "NMN"). This title has potential large appeal for militant radical whosits who wish to demonstrate their departure from traditional and degrading class (/gender distinctions. Them, and also the interminably depressed ("I don't deserve an honorific"). Until such time as a universally appealing honorific can be agreed upon, we should use some place holder honorific, such as "Foo" (or the original spelling, "Fu."). "X" would work too, since I believe all of us are supposed to have at least one of those, right? ;-). L. S. Chabot UUCP: ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot ARPA: ...chabot%amber.DEC@decwrl.ARPA USFail: DEC, MR03-1/K20, 2 Iron Way, Marlborough, MA 01752