http://www.questionpresented.com/2008/02/13/butchering-english-to-stay-pc/ (the blawg formerly known as Law School Chronicles) Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:55:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 http://www.questionpresented.com/2008/02/13/butchering-english-to-stay-pc/comment-page-1/#comment-3 pgrady Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:15:58 +0000 http://www.lawschoolchronicles.com/?p=5#comment-3 huffington has nothing on spore. -devoted fan huffington has nothing on spore.
-devoted fan

]]> http://www.questionpresented.com/2008/02/13/butchering-english-to-stay-pc/comment-page-1/#comment-2 grspore Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:06:23 +0000 http://www.lawschoolchronicles.com/?p=5#comment-2 Is this harmless transition in language so irksome? Does a pronoun shift alter a theme's underlying meaning? Or is there perhaps something else at play here? Historically, women have been assigned a more passive role in relation to their male counterparts. With the onset of the industrial revolution, as women were pulled from their homes into the outside world, the male community at large was anxious to perpetuate its monopoly on dominance in a rapidly developing society. It became important to remind women, as they sought vocational flexibilty, of their place in the world. Anchored in medieval rhetoric, driven in both the church and schools, women were confronted by an increasing wave of male aggresiveness. The psychology behind this is evident. Euphemistically, male aggression allows a community to accept an unnecessary divide fueled by some tainted romanticism/chivalry. Aggression evidences fear and fear alone. That which we do not understand consumes us. Through repressive technique and unchecked violence these fears find rationale. Consider a rarely espoused, largely because of the discomfort it projects, justification for the particular crulety of American slavery. Threatened by the influx of African males, white males were quick to the whip because of an unqualified jealousy. Frankly, white males were scared to death that the slaves might sleep with "their women." It is fear that binds us. In that light, is it necessary to highlight a fear of language? If a law casebook employs the feminine is it conceptually flawed? If I say she and you say he are we in disagreement? Language is ever evolving, it must not exist in a vacuum. Tabling the feminine while the masculine continues it anachronisitc reign might sideline Sophia's wisdom. Is this harmless transition in language so irksome? Does a pronoun shift alter a theme’s underlying meaning? Or is there perhaps something else at play here? Historically, women have been assigned a more passive role in relation to their male counterparts. With the onset of the industrial revolution, as women were pulled from their homes into the outside world, the male community at large was anxious to perpetuate its monopoly on dominance in a rapidly developing society. It became important to remind women, as they sought vocational flexibilty, of their place in the world. Anchored in medieval rhetoric, driven in both the church and schools, women were confronted by an increasing wave of male aggresiveness.
The psychology behind this is evident. Euphemistically, male aggression allows a community to accept an unnecessary divide fueled by some tainted romanticism/chivalry. Aggression evidences fear and fear alone. That which we do not understand consumes us. Through repressive technique and unchecked violence these fears find rationale.
Consider a rarely espoused, largely because of the discomfort it projects, justification for the particular crulety of American slavery. Threatened by the influx of African males, white males were quick to the whip because of an unqualified jealousy. Frankly, white males were scared to death that the slaves might sleep with “their women.” It is fear that binds us.
In that light, is it necessary to highlight a fear of language? If a law casebook employs the feminine is it conceptually flawed? If I say she and you say he are we in disagreement? Language is ever evolving, it must not exist in a vacuum. Tabling the feminine while the masculine continues it anachronisitc reign might sideline Sophia’s wisdom.

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