September 26th, 2010, 05:33 AM | #1 | ||
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Do you add -ess to words? eg. Lawyeress?
At the range a couple days ago, someone called me a shootress. I was very offended, because I like to be called a shooter.
I looked it up, and it is correct, though-should I use it, or is it demeaning? Here's what I found: From The Elements of English Grammar (1894): Quote:
From The history of the famous preacher, Friar Gerund de Campazas: otherwise Gerund Zotes (1758): Quote:
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September 28th, 2010, 06:40 PM | #2 |
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Well there is English and then there is colloquial English. I personally prefer the latter so I don't use -ess. This is actually the first I heard of it.Only seen it used in the context of actor/actress now that I think of it. I don't think the person meant it to be demeaning but I won't be using it as I don't think you need to be classified by sex for a profession/activity etc.
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October 9th, 2010, 12:55 PM | #3 |
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The point about "ess" has been a long time coming and really should be addressed more. It is demeaning to women, absolutely. The "ess" means the it is just the female version of a man's something and therefore less significant. In my opinion, it should never be used. Even in sports, they have the Professional Golfer's Association (PGA) and this is open only to men. For females they have the Ladies Professional Golfer's Association (LPGA). If we had true equality of the sexes, there would be the Men's Professional Golfer's Association for males. This is just an example, there are many other such subtle things that indicate that the role the women play is of less importance that the men's role. Girls, we should really run with this one and everytime we hear someone use the "ess" word, call them on it, ask them what in fact they mean, get people used to the idea that we, as women, take offence of it. Most women even need to be educated on this, as most times it is just used from habit and not from an intent. Thanks for introducing this.
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February 14th, 2011, 07:50 PM | #4 |
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I'm with Weisse Dame. Adding "ess" or specifying "female" or "lady" or "woman" shows that women are still struggling with being viewed as equals. I even stopped calling female actors "actresses" because I don't believe in the distinction.
NewYorkTaxi, if someone called me a shootress, I'd say, "No, I'm a shooter. Just because I have a pair of tits doesn't mean you have to call me a whole new word." |
December 2nd, 2013, 10:12 AM | #5 |
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Frankly I don't mind the "ess" suffix all that much. Recently I was referred to as a hostess of the party. I wasn't offended.
I find it odd too that many actresses in Hollywood now refer to themselves as "actors". (Neglecting the historical deference to the masculine, i.e. "everyone should bring "his" pencil to school tomorrow") Doesn't it seem somewhat hypocritical to have a "best actress" award? Why not just a "best actor"? Should we forget gender? |
December 2nd, 2013, 01:15 PM | #6 |
awesome cookie lady
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No Pris, we need the gender separation only because it seems to me there are more men in movies than women.
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December 2nd, 2013, 06:12 PM | #7 |
Jennifer23
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I really don't have a problem with either. To me, it's just another form of political correctness, which I hate. My black friends call themselves "black", not "African Americans". So, if a woman is a success, do we say that she succs?
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December 8th, 2013, 12:37 AM | #8 |
awesome cookie lady
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LOL OMG Jen!!! How funny but you're right. In this day and age?? IDK could be my age?
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December 9th, 2013, 02:04 PM | #9 |
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CM and Jen, I forgot I made that post. I went to a Catholic HS. The boys were Crusaders....the girls Crusaderettes.
Most likely neither is now politically correct! What were you guys in HS? |
December 9th, 2013, 06:02 PM | #10 |
Jennifer23
Join Date: Dec 2010
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We were "The Blue Streaks" in HS. The boys were called Streaks and we were called Lady Streaks.
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December 9th, 2013, 07:56 PM | #11 |
awesome cookie lady
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Oh wow I feel like I win we were the Cougars. I guess we were ahead of our time cause we were all cougars.
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June 6th, 2014, 10:34 PM | #12 |
Jennifer23
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Hi.
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