[soc.women] Sexism in WordPerfect

jmdoyle@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Jennifer Mary Doyle) (05/19/89)

[Okay, let's try this again. Sorry if you've seen it before, this post has
 been flying into the ether here.]

While writing a paper on discrimination using WordPerfect, I came across the
following lists. Each list consists of a word, and the synonyms given for it
by the WP thesaurus. In some cases, the antonyms given are also listed. In the
case of "man", the only antonym listed was for "man" as a verb. Some of the
sexism in the lists is due to the inherent sexism in the language, but some
is without a doubt due to the people who put this thesaurus together. The
question is what to do now.

Jen

woman
-----
dame
dowager 
female 
lady 
matron 
consort 
mate 
spouse 
wife 
handmaiden 
housekeeper 
maid

opposite 
--------
man
husband
butler

man      
---
human beings
humanity
humankind
mankind
people
chap
fellow
guy

opposite
--------
N/A

feminine
--------
female
ladylike 
womanly 
dainty 
delicate 
soft

opposite
--------
masculine 

masculine 
---------
male 
manly 
virile 
brawny 
muscular
powerful 
robust 
strong

opposite
--------
feminine
weak

prostitute 
----------
harlot 
hooker 
hustler
streetwalker
strumpet 
trollop 
whore 

gigolo 
------
companion 
escort 
gallant 
lover 
paramour
-- 
"I get by with a little help from my friends..."   |Now reading:_Cyberiad_,
Jen  jmdoyle@phoenix.princeton.edu  Princeton '92  |_The Shore of Women_ 
Disclaimer: I am a student, I represent the future.|Finished: _Gamearth_
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