Question for the Evening
From Bunnie Diehl:
How many decades after the term has ceased to have any meaning will we use the word co-ed to describe female college students?
Well, it's being used in articles describing Pakistan, such as "Co-ed footrace a giant step for moderates in Pakistan."
However, Bunnie notes its use in U.S.-based articles. But never fear, the thought police are here:
Diane Ravitch’s masterful Language Police is an indispensible companion piece to George Orwell’s Politics and the English Language. Hilarity and distress piggyback incriminatingly as we sample the fruits of her research and analysis. Some illustrations of topics and usages booted by publishers and state agencies....
Banned as Sexist: patrolman, brotherhood, caveman, coed, covergirl, craftsman, doorman, heroine, landlord, layman, maid, mankind, man-made, old wives’ tales, ombudsman, one-man show, pollyanna, spinster, sportsmanship, waitress, yes-man. “Adam and Eve” becomes “Eve and Adam” as proof that men do not dominate....
They forgot boycott. Danged baby seal clubbers.
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