I started reading a book and have since lost it, misplaced it, or otherwise forgotten about it's existence except for one thing. The authors made a comment at the beginning of the book that was very interesting. They would not use the gender sensitive "he and she" or "his and hers" in the book. Some examples in the book would describe how SHE responded. There would be some illustrations of how HE did this or that. The comment was that the rather inelegant but gender neutral phrasing was clumsy. And that we were mature men reading the book and would be able to generalize the examples. Also as intelligent women, we should be able to get over it.
I agree with them whole-heartedly. And I can't wait to first find then finish their book. If you agree with an author's foreword comments then the book can't be all that bad.
At times I write material and am deeply troubled by having to use the plural or "s/he." I saw a S/HE once on the Discovery Channel and it had nothing to do with gender neutrality. In fact it was very gender specific, perhaps genderS specific is more appropriate.
I think of myself as a liberal. Craig would say I'm less and less liberal as the conservatives take greater and greater hold of the political offices, but that is another story. I believe than anyone can do a job, if they really want to do it. I also think that if you want to do the job and are the best qualified for it, as a man or woman, tall or short person, or four- or two-functioning limbs, you should get the job. I do not think we need to re-write the Constitution or the Bible to include more women or other majorities (according to Craig, the white, Anglo-Saxon male is the minority in the US) into the mix. I think we need to experience each person, one at a time.
Oh, oh, oh! A heard from a Northern European colleague that she felt a diversity poster we were looking at did not have a mix of pictures that her workforce could identify with. By US standards, the picture was diverse with someone in a wheelchair and men and women of various ages and ethnic backgrounds. The one group omitted was the blond Scandinavian group.
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