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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   2198 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 29, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Is anyone else surprised that they never excised “chief” from modern PC English? As in chief executive officer? I can’t think of any other context for chief other than an Indian chief. Maybe some military ranks? But it’s all based off Indians.

Thoughts?

I think it's because the 'chief' in CEO is an adjective rather than a noun. The brain processes the two categories of word differently, even if they are homonyms.

I wonder if this explains the bizarre reaction by some feminists to women being called "females," despite not having a problem with them being labeled as being "female." I've seen a number of weird, twisting explanations for why the former is "dehumanizing" or whatever, but all of them appeared as pure motivated reasoning, especially given that no man I've ever heard of has had any problem with being called "a male." Could very well be indeed pure motivated reasoning, meant to put a veneer of justification over what's, at heart, a pure visceral response.

I think 'females' is usually used to refer to animals, that's why many people don't like it. Men and boys are just less sensitive.

That's one of the justifications I've heard, but it just doesn't strike me as based on anything real. It's often used to refer to animals, but not in a way that distinguishes non-human animals from human ones, like how referring to someone as "it" might. It appears to me as motivated reasoning.

Ok, now that someone’s brought up its use in black culture- which the women who most strongly object the term would associate with poor treatment of women- that’s probably the real reason. Obviously the ‘it sounds like you’re talking about dogs’ is a bit more acceptable to say in public, though.

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