On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 2:28 PM, Judy Prince <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> "Clearly when Hilary Clinton or Michelle Obama take office, we'll call her
> Mrs. President"???? Do we now call Barack Obama Mr---married---President?
>
> Get with modernisms oh Uche!
>
So you're saying that the sexism is in the fact that we differentiate
married and unmarried titles for women rather than men. I tend to be frank
about such things. I find that very petty. But even if I accept that, then
your problem is with the title, and not the "President" part, and so it
doesn't really go with the point you were trying to make. And are you also
campaigning to strip "Mr" and "Mrs" out of everyday use as well, as you
should if you were being consistent. Do you beat up on anyone who calls you
Ms. or Mrs. Prince? Actually, more to the matter, do you beat up on anyone
who calls someone sitting next to you on a bus "Mr. Smith"?
I know you intended no more than an off-hand comment, but I've always
thought words such as "sexist", "racist" and such are dangerous and loaded,
and should be used with caution. I've been sitting for a while on a "Tongue
of Warcraft" piece for TNB in which I complain that people seem to be
tripping all over themselves to politically criminalize almost every
possible means of expression, and that almost anything we can express can be
construed as offensive to some group.
--
Uche Ogbuji http://uche.ogbuji.net
Founding Partner, Zepheira http://zepheira.com
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