The Word Is Out
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The announcement that the UC San Diego Guardian has dropped “freshperson” from its “non-sexist language policy” in favor of “first-year student” (San Diego At Large, Jan. 10) points up, once again, the ridiculousness of trying to root out male-oriented words from the lexicon.
Being a freshman is an honorable state, as is being a human or a woman.
The suffix “-man” means person. It does not mean male. The words “man and “mankind” have always included males and females and are used generically to describe humans, as opposed to animals or other forms of life.
Without the female of the species, mankind could never have evolved. It’s interesting that no one has ever objected to the word “persons.” Does it include daughters?
If we must revise the language, it seems to me that it would be far simpler to eliminate the use of the word “man” as a description of an adult male person than it is to change the names of hundreds of occupations, professions and designations.
Feminists who do not understand these basic principles would do well to take a freshman course in etymology.
POLLY S. BROWDER
La Jolla
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