One of the comments on this very site recently chastised me for using the word "guys" in this post (which is also referenced as posting guidelines elsewhere in the site). While the comment itself was worded impolitely and missed some key facts (i.e. the gender-inclusiveness of this site), the question posed is a valid one:
i find it interesting that in the first sentence about proper posting on a profect for feminists you refer to everyone using the generic, yet archaicly gender-laden term "guys." as a feminist, that immediately offends and turns me off to the whole idea of the tagline of your blog.if you have a brain, why not use it. all of the staff listed on your site is female. i venture to say a vast majority of your readers are as well. why not address them the right way? the intelligent way? the pro-woman, feminist-loving way?
Many of you responded to Vic's post awhile ago about feminine endings to say that you didn't care much for gendered endings, and even found them demeaning.
But. What do you think about being called "guys"? Does it make a difference to you?
My own feeling is that language being the fluid thing it is, the term "guys" now refers equally to men or women in common usage and therefore isn't a big deal [moreover, I'm pretty sure I was referring to 2 specific men when I wrote that, but that's irrelevant to my question here]. But I'm open to reconsidering if they majority of you think otherwise.
October 27, 2003Daughters lead to divorce. So says a new article in the New York times. According to Alternet.org the article says fathers who have girl children spend less time with them than their sons, work less, and are more likely to get divorced. The link to the article is here.
Is this just another way to blame it on the girls, or a disturbing fact about fathers' views towards their daughters? If it is fact, it's a sad statement on our society and how little we've truly come since the middle ages, when the value of a woman was only judged by her ability to bear a son.
What do you all think? Disturbing fact, or fiction? How clear can the results really be, and what does it mean for our society? For our cause?
[Editor's Note: If you're looking for the NY Times original article (which I think you should read before commenting on the Alternet post), you can visit the NY Times site - it requires a free registration.]