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From: geoff@ISM780.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: Re: Yet another new reader. Keywd: G
Message-ID: <148@ISM780.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Mar-85 00:25:12 EST
Article-I.D.: ISM780.148
Posted: Wed Mar  6 00:25:12 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Mar-85 03:55:02 EST
Lines: 40
Nf-ID: #R:unc:-15200:ISM780:33100004:000:2074
Nf-From: ISM780!geoff    Mar  5 11:37:00 1985

>>Yes, "Keyword:GIRLS" is correct.  Suggest you try looking for women to date,
>>not girls.  Very few girls or boys attend college, however, men and women
>>attend in droves.
>>  ...
>>Yes, I'm serious.  It's a far healthier attitude to know you're looking for
>>adult companionship and to refer it as such.
>
>The word "girl" has at least two meanings.  It can refer to any
>prepubescent female.  Also, it is often used to describe any
>adult female who is still young enough to be sexually attractive.
> [...]
>Feminists insist on restricting the word "girl" to the first meaning.

Several years ago, one of the country's most prestigious Ballet companies
(American Ballet Theater) went on strike.  Among the grievences was the
practice of refering to the dancers as "boys" and "girls".  If you know
any professional dancers, you'll realize how serious things have to get
for them to even CONSIDER going out on strike.  The point was that the
habit (of calling dancers boys and girls) was demeaning to professionals
(I know, I was a dancer, and I hated being called a "boy" at 25 years of
age), and promoted the tendency of management to treat us like children.
E.g. "No, you can't have a representive on the board, you wouldn't
understand what's going on.", or "No, you can't have a 5 day work week,
you'd just let yourselves get out of shape." This, directed at people
who've devoted most of their lives to their art (at least 6 days a week!)

The ABT dancers didn't get much out of the strike, but they got the right
to be refered to as "men" and "women", and the company management started
treating the dancers as professionals. (Sometimes they even ask them what
THEY want.)

I don't see much difference, a professional is a professional.  I think that
implies adult!  Refering to someone as a "boy" or "girl" (even mentally)
demeans the individual. Think about it!

	  Geoffrey Kimbrough -- Director of Dangerous Activities --
	  INTERACTIVE Systems Corporation, Santa Monica California.
			       ima!ism780!geoff

		Nothing works, and nobody cares -- Woody Allen