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Author Topic:   The word Man is inherently confusing/sexist? Oh the huMANity!
Modulous
Member
Posts: 7801
From: Manchester, UK
Joined: 05-01-2005


Message 2 of 90 (343524)
08-26-2006 6:58 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Silent H
08-26-2006 5:31 AM


Indeed - man originally meant 'person'. Females were called 'wife persons' and men were called 'weapon persons' or 'wifman' and 'wepman'. Source. Looking around I find few references to 'weapon person', and I originally heard the etymology on the BBC program Balderdash & Piffle.

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 Message 4 by crashfrog, posted 08-26-2006 8:21 AM Modulous has replied

  
Modulous
Member
Posts: 7801
From: Manchester, UK
Joined: 05-01-2005


Message 5 of 90 (343536)
08-26-2006 8:48 AM
Reply to: Message 4 by crashfrog
08-26-2006 8:21 AM


Indeed, and that's why the usage is sexist
I think Holmes agrees that calling male people 'man' is sexist, but calling people 'man' is not.
When I say "male normative", do you understand what that means?
I know what male means and know what what normative means, so unless either word is being used peculiarly...
Because it should be impossible to look at the usage of "Man" to refer to all humanity and not see the very sexist assumptions about humanity and the role of women that are loaded into that usage.
I appreciate that it is sexist that the word for person became the name for males. It isn't sexist to call all 'humanity' man, but perhaps it is other way round. What solution do you propose? Perhaps we should start calling people wepman and wifman for specifics and 'man' for 'person'? Or should we keep man as male and stick with person for 'human'?

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