Somebody wake Chomsky
What do you think when you read the following sentences?
Sam is the girl I'm interested in.
Sam is the woman I'm interested in.
When I think about the first I get the image of a guy in his twenties or thirties (I admit to my heteronormativeness with a touch of ageism) talking about a woman of roughly the same age. I also feel a bit wrong hearing a 20-30 year old woman a "girl." The problem is, the second sentence gives me the same set-up--20-something guy, 20-something girl--only the guy is either overly formal and stiff and/or an oversensitive douche, the type who might have a point, but buries it in arrogance and smugness. The type who always knows better for you and wouldn't the world be better if everyone were just like him. Ironically, the word "sheeple" is one of his favorites. I don't want to be a douche, but I don't want to feel weird either.
Interestingly, the male side of this equation doesn't have this problem. You can talk about the "guy" you're interested in without feeling weird because "guy" has been separated out from "boy," which clearly refers to non-adult males or men with the mentality of youths. What we need is a word that describes women without sounding too formal and clearly indicates that one is discussing women who won't get one in trouble with Chris Hansen. The word "dame" is about due for a comeback, right?
These are the things I ponder at 11:30 on a Friday.
Sam is the girl I'm interested in.
Sam is the woman I'm interested in.
When I think about the first I get the image of a guy in his twenties or thirties (I admit to my heteronormativeness with a touch of ageism) talking about a woman of roughly the same age. I also feel a bit wrong hearing a 20-30 year old woman a "girl." The problem is, the second sentence gives me the same set-up--20-something guy, 20-something girl--only the guy is either overly formal and stiff and/or an oversensitive douche, the type who might have a point, but buries it in arrogance and smugness. The type who always knows better for you and wouldn't the world be better if everyone were just like him. Ironically, the word "sheeple" is one of his favorites. I don't want to be a douche, but I don't want to feel weird either.
Interestingly, the male side of this equation doesn't have this problem. You can talk about the "guy" you're interested in without feeling weird because "guy" has been separated out from "boy," which clearly refers to non-adult males or men with the mentality of youths. What we need is a word that describes women without sounding too formal and clearly indicates that one is discussing women who won't get one in trouble with Chris Hansen. The word "dame" is about due for a comeback, right?
These are the things I ponder at 11:30 on a Friday.