Comments on: “Men At Work” no more

By: opinionated teen

opinionated teen — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:02:27 +0000

Maybe they should reprint the Lord of the Rings, too.

“It is in Men that we must place our hope now.” turns into, “It is in Humans/People/Men and Women that we must place our hope now.”

The Lord of the Rings: Now politically correct!

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By: outkast

outkast — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:21:01 +0000

And for certain editing projects I’m expected to use male pronouns and I gladly do so. But for more and more projects I do the more modern thing because it is less confusing for the “unchurched/younger” readers. It’s almost like continuing to use “thees” and “thous” during prayers?

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By: Xion

Xion — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:01:58 +0000

Outkast #33. Speaking English correctly is ‘politically incorrect’.

I say, “Whenever someone writes he should strive to use proper grammar with his gender pronouns.”

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By: Dav

Dav — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:38:55 +0000

#35 — it’s that kind of masculine feminity that is destroying our culture.
I didn’t say a thing about “Macho males” and “Dad ruling with an iron fist”. You inserted that, probably because you’ve been programmed to go belly up at the first sign of ire from a feminist.
Read Genesis for a better understanding of male and female rules…from God’s perspective.
Created equal before the Lord with differing roles.

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By: Bob Buckles

Bob Buckles — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:02:13 +0000

#34 Yes Dav Feminism is just as bad as Macho males and Dad ruling with an iron fist. Me? I try to live by Mom’s Rules.

Rule #1 Mom is always right.
Rule #2 If Mom is wrong, see Rule #1.

I get in less trouble that way. By the way, I am 61 and very happily married.

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By: Dav

Dav — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:55:07 +0000

Feminism — one of Satan’s greatest tools.

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By: outkast

outkast — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:14:19 +0000

Technically it’s bad grammar to use “they” as an he/she reference, but as an editor myself I’ve found it’s often the bast way to handle it. After all, grammar does evolve (or devolve?).

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By: momof5

momof5 — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:26:10 +0000

I love the humor on this thread!

Cheryl, I agree about the language getting tied in knots with this stuff–we end up using “they” or “their” for singular references just to cut down on the awkwardness, but that’s bad grammar.

Guess I’m more offended by bad grammar than by male references for mixed groups.

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By: Mickel

Mickel — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:52:34 +0000

“Folks Doing Stuff”

That would cover it all.

Is this really worth getting worked up into a sweat?

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By: Cheryl D.

Cheryl D. — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:32:43 +0000

My own pet peeve (I edit it out if I think I can get away with it) is “humankind.” We can speak of “man,” “humans,” or “mankind,” all of which refer to human beings–so “humankind” is quite simply redundancy, and quite silly as a coined word.

I love it when I get an author who simply uses “he” for the generic; any other usage ends up putting the language in knots. (The only place where “he” seems awkward to me is if you’re refering to married couples: “Ask your husband or wife is he or she…” reads better than “Ask your spouse if he…” which seems to assume a husband.)

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