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Post by Kaleidoscope Eyes on Oct 4, 2016 20:47:12 GMT -4
My post got eaten up in the internet ether, but smitten basically says the same thing I said. Oriental refers to things and hence why we don't refer to people that way, or that's what I was taught in the early 90s. But, I don't feel comfortable saying "Oriental food" (because it's a problematic blanket term when I probably usually specifically mean Thai or Vietnamese or Chinese) or "Oriental rugs," because it still feels off somehow.
I think part of the issue (besides the obvious history of cultural stereotypes that the word invokes) is because the word(s) Orient/Far East are problematic. So whose directional perspective is being centered/privileged/framed in that terminology? That's also part of why Orient/Oriental feels wrong to say. Also, I guess I'm usually referring to people more often than things, so it's not a term that I'm used to saying and thus feels weird when I need to find the right word.
I really don't know and I've wondered the same thing specifically in regard to using Oriental for things.
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Post by chonies on Oct 5, 2016 9:53:11 GMT -4
I agree! And, of course, oriental carpets were made by...people. So.
Anyway, I was speaking to one of my neighbors the other day, and it was full of emphatic double negatives and "young'in" and it was pretty cool. I will happily word police but when it comes to mechanics like this, I just want to pull out a notebook and document it.
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Post by ratscabies on Oct 5, 2016 14:10:41 GMT -4
Yeah, but did he ask if you was "fixin' tuh come onst" his property?
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Post by chonies on Mar 28, 2017 11:09:21 GMT -4
Associated Press officially adopts singular ' they'.
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Post by chonies on Apr 17, 2017 11:11:11 GMT -4
I think I'm fighting a losing battle in my opposition to "female" as a noun.
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Post by Mugsy on Apr 20, 2017 19:44:22 GMT -4
Female is a noun. I am a female. I guess I don't understand the opposition.
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Post by batmom on Apr 21, 2017 11:19:17 GMT -4
It's an adjective first, though. You're a female human.
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Post by chonies on Apr 21, 2017 11:27:45 GMT -4
It has somewhat dehumanizing connotations, too. I hear it mostly used in law enforcement: ["three females were seen..."] and in conversation where it's meant to be slightly pejorative, like the person knows they shouldn't say 'bitch' but want to communicate that. And also, I see a qualitative difference between these two sentences. "Three women ordered pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks." "Three females ordered pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks." Mignon Fogarty of Grammar Girl also describes it as demeaning. Link.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jul 6, 2024 7:09:51 GMT -4
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2017 11:53:40 GMT -4
Interesting! I've always inherently bristled at that use of "female," too. Mainly because you never hear people refer to men/boys as "males" (unless it's a scientific/medical/veterinary-related conversation). I figured it was kind of just me since it's not technically incorrect.
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Post by chonies on Apr 21, 2017 12:35:55 GMT -4
Interesting! I've always inherently bristled at that use of "female," too. Mainly because you never hear people refer to men/boys as "males" (unless it's a scientific/medical/veterinary-related conversation). I figured it was kind of just me since it's not technically incorrect. I know it's used in science, and I'm kind of ok with that* and it also seems to be done for the sake of brevity. I'm not ok with the common, casual use. *scientists around the world sigh in relief and shout in jubilation.
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