http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/08/sen-kohl-welles-defends-her-gender-neutrality-bill Comments On: Sen Kohl-Welles Defends Her Gender-Neutrality Bill by Dominic Holden en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
Back then, we called it "polite".

I do miss the days when other people being polite wasn't something you scorned or ridiculed. You know, in some cultures, being polite is regarded as a positive trait. I guess for a lot of people, being an asshole is a better one.

Well, you are what you eat, assholes.
Posted by Tacoma Traveler]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 23:41:51 -0800 The Stranger Posted by fletc3her]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 23:28:29 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Hanoumatoi]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:28:55 -0800 The Stranger
'man' can refer to male, but also refers to the human race.

'man'kind.

it has a gender neutral meaning.

English Comprehension Fail.

poor Jeanne has pussy-whipped herself, it seems....
Posted by stupid bitch]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 10:30:21 -0800 The Stranger Posted by sirkowski]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 10:14:47 -0800 The Stranger
Thanks for the high school international studies lesson. How about ending affirmative action, especially against Asian students at our universities?
Posted by Or don't you believe in merit?]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 09:09:29 -0800 The Stranger
America does not have an official language. English is commonly used, but that is by accident and not design.

We represent something very strange as far as nations go. Other states are defined by nationality-A Hungarian born in Romania will always be called Hungarian, even if his family has been there since the 1600's. A Turk born in Bulgaria will always be a Turk by nationality. In America, even if your parents were born in Russia, you are an American by nationality if you were born here.

We are not members of the Commonwealth. There has been talk of a "special relationship" with Britain,. but that's only been acknowledged since WW2, and is only used when it's politically expedient for the President of the time. Clinton saw Blair as an ideological ally who could help him shore up support in his own country for his very conservative platform within the Democratic Party. Prior to that, we had not heard the term since FDR, who used the term to gain support for the US' entry into the war. Since Bush and Blair both left office, we haven't heard the term again, and probably won't until there's another war we need British support for. In all reality, thhe special relationship is mythology.

So is the concept that we are shackled to tradition in ways that countrie belonging to La Francophonie, the Commonwealth, or the Ibero-American Summit. We dont belong to an equivalent of the EU, which would define us in terms of a North American identity. We are not, and will never be, tied down by tradition based upon language,the colonial past, or geography.

We are, in a word, free. Free to invent ourselves in any way we choose. Free to become whatever country we would like to be. And I would like us to be a country where the only barrier to success is merit. A nation that does not give unfair advantage based upon to whom one was born, or where, or with what gender or what sexuality. A land where the word freedom is spoken in many languages, in a thousand dialects, and in all such cases it is understood perfectly.

I want equality across the board for every American. A totally flat playing field, one in which the sweat on your brow and the blisters on your hands, as well as the brilliance of your ideas, is what determines how far you will go in life. Women sweat as hard as we do. They work every bit as hard as we do. And their ideas are just as brilliant. There is no reason why they should not be allowed to achieve whatever they can in free competition as equal players in a just society.

Tradition be damned. In America, our religion is the future, not the past.
Posted by Tacoma Traveler]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 08:21:52 -0800 The Stranger Posted by raku]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 07:55:50 -0800 The Stranger Posted by ScrawnyKayaker]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 07:42:49 -0800 The Stranger Posted by ScrawnyKayaker]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 07:42:47 -0800 The Stranger
These changes have already been made, they just need final approval.
Posted by Queerly Yours]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 06:46:07 -0800 The Stranger Posted by katallred]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 02:22:14 -0800 The Stranger who could be male or female, I could say,
"Look at that person. I wonder if they know where they're going", that would be incorrect because "they" is plural. If I replace "they" with "he" then I'm assuming
its a dude. (by the way, is it ok to call females "dudes"?) But what if its a broad?
We need a new word that is the plural of
he/she. I suppose "it" would work, as in,
"I'm not sure if it's a boy or a girl...(sounds
ok so far)..."I wonder if it knows where it's
going?" ...a bit too impersonal.
Posted by handelfire]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 01:56:27 -0800 The Stranger
As @10 says, other languages make it much more difficult. English, however, allows us to right this wrong. So let's fucking do it already.
Posted by Tawnos]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2013 01:28:13 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Seattle_1_scientist]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 23:15:19 -0800 The Stranger
And, of course, the moon is female and the sun is male, but you could have guessed that.

And if you're learning Spanish in school, you have to memorize all this junk.

This is all just so that you know whether to use "la" or "el," "las" or "los," "ellas" or "ellos," or, better yet, so that you know whether the action verb referring to the object(s) should end in an "a" or an "o."

I don't know about non-Romance languages other than English, but we have pretty easy with English when it comes to gender. I don't think there's anything the Jeanne Kohl-Welles of Spain and Latin America can do.
Posted by floater]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:58:45 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Reverse Polarity]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:08:08 -0800 The Stranger
Then again, you straight guys don't have to either. When you do, it makes you intolerable to be around. A bill like this is not a threat to your manhood. Your manhood is bullshit anyway. What is it, other than a Y chromosome, a cock and two testicles? The other anatomical facts about you don't dictate your behavior. Does the fact that my eyes are blue mean that I must be more social than hazel-eyed people? Does the length of my femurs determine if i should be better at doing taxes or at cooking? What about the shape if the instep of my foot-does that indicate that i have to be into monster trucks and cheap beer?

So why should your dick?

And why does the presence or absence of a dick mean that you should be called anything in particular in legal documents?

Are short people to be referred to in all legal proceedings as "The Short Person Smith" or "The Untall Person Jones"? Should your occupation title be different if you are fat or thin? And if you are hairy or smooth, should that fact be noted every time someone discusses you in a governmental context?

Absurd, huh? So is defining someone on the basis of gender. Look, I have a penis too. And I rally don't give a shit if anyone makes note of this fact or not. Outside of the guy I'm fucking, its nobody's fucking business. And it sure as shit isn't the government's.

You know what are some good job titles for women? President. Governor. Mayor. Senator. CEO. CFO. Executive Director. Soldier. Firefighter. Sailor. Doctor. Attorney. Pipe Fitter. Foreperson.

And you know what? Your dick doesn't shrink if you call them those things.
Posted by Tacoma Traveler]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 19:15:38 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Phoebe in Wallingford]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 19:12:17 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Trannie Liberation Front]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 18:14:32 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Stranger'sWorstNightmare]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:25:46 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Asbel]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:11:58 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Asbel]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:09:52 -0800 The Stranger
Maybe we should name every "Pat" and be done with it?
Posted by Postman Pat]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:00:50 -0800 The Stranger Posted by aardvark]]> Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:34:02 -0800 The Stranger