MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Is it time English adopt a genderless pronoun?

pdurrant · 08-31-2012, 06:09 PM

English also has several male and female versions of job descriptions or titles:

actor/actress
waiter/waitress
comedian/comedienne
baron/baroness

For some of these, there is a move away from using the female version to using only the male version.

This is especially prevalent in the acting profession.

I'm uncertain as to whether this is a good, bad or neutral thing. But from common politeness, if a female acting professional wants to be called an actor, I'll call her that.

08-31-2012, 06:09 PM	#132
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 71,495 Karma: 306214458 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Voyage	English also has several male and female versions of job descriptions or titles: actor/actress waiter/waitress comedian/comedienne baron/baroness For some of these, there is a move away from using the female version to using only the male version. This is especially prevalent in the acting profession. I'm uncertain as to whether this is a good, bad or neutral thing. But from common politeness, if a female acting professional wants to be called an actor, I'll call her that.