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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 09/11/2025 13:59, John Clark wrote:<br>
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cite="mid:CAJPayv2yNDCDqf5d856+FjkquYEHOgViK+vL9Y_Apy+6th7J_g@mail.gmail.com">
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<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">On Sat, Nov
8, 2025 at 10:51 AM Ben Zaiboc via extropy-chat <<a
href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>>
wrote:</span></div>
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<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><b
style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large"><span
class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">>> </span>It
could be argued that <span class="gmail_default">"L</span>ady
<span class="gmail_default">C</span>hairman<span
class="gmail_default">" is self-contradictory
nonsense, unless you're talking about a
hermaphrodite. </span>How about <span
class="gmail_default">C</span>hairwoman<span
class="gmail_default">? I admit that doesn't sound
quite right but I think at least part of that is due
to the fact that the word "woman" has two syllables
but the word "man" only has one. </span></b></blockquote>
<br>
<font size="4"><i> <span class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">> </span>It
could. If you assume that words containing 'man' refer
only to biological males (they don't).</i></font></div>
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<div><font size="4" face="tahoma, sans-serif"><b>It's
ambiguous,<span class="gmail_default" style="">
sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't refer
exclusively to a male, but it <u>NEVER</u> refers
exclusively to a female. Do you think that sort of
asymmetry and ambivalence is a good thing? You've
never spelled it out, what exactly is your objection
to the word "chairwoman", why does it make you so
angry? </span> </b></font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="tahoma, sans-serif"><b><br>
</b></font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="tahoma, sans-serif"><span
class="gmail_default" style=""><b style="">John K Clark</b></span><br>
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<br>
<br>
Angry? I'm anything but angry. Amused, maybe. Disappointed,
certainly. Exasperated sometimes. But not angry.<br>
<br>
There's nothing particularly wrong with 'chairwoman', it's just
unnecessary, and as you pointed out, sounds a bit awkward. It's in
the same category as 'saleswoman', 'businesswoman', 'sportswoman',
etc. They strike me as rather silly. I wouldn't use them, but
neither would I strongly object so someone else using them (although
I might roll my eyes!). I certainly wouldn't make them central to my
opposition to enforced PC language in general. That /does/ make me
angry.<br>
<br>
But "chair" on it's own just sounds stupid to me. And perhaps a bit
insulting. Imagine calling a doorman a 'door', because some women
start doing the job. Sure, use 'doorwoman' if you must, I don't
really care, but I do care if someone starts saying I shouldn't or
can't use 'doorman'.<br>
<br>
I was always a fan of the Star Trek convention of using 'Sir' for
senior officers, regardless of their sex. I thought that was quite
inspired, doing away with "Ma'am", which always sounds awkward or at
least old-fashioned, I think.<br>
<br>
But against that is the decision to replace "...where no man..."
with "...where no one...". Again, no great objection, at least it
does make sense and doesn't sound artificial, but it still tends to
draw the attention to these silly 'gender issues' that get people so
riled up, and it's unnecessary. There are more important things to
worry about.
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Ben</pre>
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