Sex Change

Chit-chat, current events
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Lucky Vassall
Posts: 272
Joined: January 27th, 2014, 2:40 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA

Re: Sex Change

Post by Lucky Vassall »

Professional Tourist wrote:
Fossy wrote:All interesting comments, but perhaps I am old fashioned. I still believe that an actress who calls herself (or allows herself to be called) an actor is ashamed of being female.
Yes, opinions will vary, but I'm surprised that you see shame at a factor for women who prefer (or accept) gender-inclusive terms.

If you can remember back a few decades, when it was less common for men to become registered nurses, they were generally referred to as 'male nurses'. This phrase has since fallen into disuse and 'male nurse' has mostly been dropped. Do you feel that a man who is an RN who calls himself or allows himself to be called a 'nurse' rather than a 'male nurse' is ashamed of being male?
The problem, of course, is in our language.

If only it had started out with two designations for males, married and unmarried, we might not have any problem.

Then, there's the fact that we don't seem to be able to come up with a gender-negative pronoun. I've seen s/he, but I think it's dreadful. We need something that will make the switch easy, as changing from Mrs./Miss to Ms was.

At least we don't assign gender to inanimate objects! Think what a problem THAT would cause today. Male Warships and Female Luxury Liners all become Overboats?
[size=85]AVATAR: Billy DeWolfe as Mrs. Murgatroid, “Blue Skies” (1946)

[b]“My ancestors came over on the Mayflower.”
“You’re lucky. Now they have immigration laws."[/b]
[i]Mae West, The Heat’s On” (1943[/i])

[b]:–)—[/b]
Pinoc-U-no(se)[/size]
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Fossy
Posts: 566
Joined: April 29th, 2010, 8:13 pm
Location: Cairns, Qld., Australia

Re: Sex Change

Post by Fossy »

Professional Tourist said

If you can remember back a few decades, when it was less common for men to become registered nurses, they were generally referred to as 'male nurses'. This phrase has since fallen into disuse and 'male nurse' has mostly been dropped. Do you feel that a man who is an RN who calls himself or allows himself to be called a 'nurse' rather than a 'male nurse' is ashamed of being male?

A good point, but not quite the same. There has never been a single word to describe male nurses, but the word actress has always existed.

Actually one of Victoria`s first male nurses was a friend of mine. He may even have been the first. An ambulance driver who was sacked for going through a red light, even though other vehicles had given way to his warning bell. Because he was unrepentant he was sacked. Rather than leave the health industry he became a nurse.
This was not easy for him, and he was ridiculed for it, not by patients or staff, who were grateful to have him there, but by people outside the industry who thought him strange.

It probably took a decade before the general public before male nurses were generally accepted.
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