tpkq@charm.UUCP (01/30/84)
The use of the word "woman" as an adjective (or more accurately, an appositive), far from being a result of the modern feminist movement (the earliest example of this usage cited by the Oxford English Dictionary dates from 1300), is rather a reflection of exactly the kind of prejudice that the feminist movement is fighting against. The implication hiding behind a phrase like "woman doctor" is that doctors are men, and that, in the "extraordinary case" of a doctor who is also a woman, special note must be made of the fact. Since the fact that women are just as capable as men at being doctors, welders, astronauts, etc., has been thoroughly demonstrated, and since women are increasingly entering professions which have been traditionally male, it is apparent that, in this case, language is lagging far behind reality, and that this usage of the word "woman" is reactionary.
amigo2@ihuxq.UUCP (John Hobson) (02/01/84)
I am reminded of Dr. Samuel Johnson's comment upon hearing a woman preaching: "It is like a dog walking upon its hind legs. The wonder is not that it is done well, rather that it is done at all." John Hobson AT&T Bell Labs Naperville, IL (312) 979-7293 ihnp4!ihuxq!amigo2