Wow. Its really not so hard after all. Can we end this thread with the voice of reason prevailing? ************************************************************************** Mark Nielsen Exhibit Designer/Preparator University of Michigan Museum of Art [log in to unmask] 313/647-2068 On Thu, 31 Oct 1996, patricia l roath wrote: > I'd like to suggest that everyone pick up a little book titled "The > Handbood of Nonsexist Writing", by Casey Miller & Kate Swift. A second > edition came out in 1988 (first published in 1980); there may be > subsequent editions. > > The authors give a historical perspective on the supposedly generic > masculine that is assumed correct in most English writing. They also > give easy solutions to such incorrect assumptions for most > situations--including correspondence. > > These issues are larger than simply how we address each other on this > list--underlying assumptions in language are a crucial consideration > in catalog writing, gallery labels and text, etc. As with the earlier > discussion on ethnic bias, gender bias is insidious, obvious to those > whose sensitivities have been raised, and really quite easy to fix. > > Pat Roath > Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection > Indiana University, Bloomington > [log in to unmask] >