Some words that I want to reclaim or whatever the lingo is.
Miss -- My art teacher got married when I was in second grade. I remember her teaching us the difference between Miss, Mrs., and Ms. (4 letters: I am not married. 3 letters: I am married. 2 letters: Who knows?) The poor dear. I could write them all, but they all got pronounced the same way. Miss. I love the sound of it and still can’t wrap my tongue around Mzzzzz. So for the sake of being everyone the same, I’m proud to be Miss Me, no matter which way I spell it. (Often Ms.)
Lady/Ladies -- I didn’t realize there were issues with this one until the discussion here. I use it all the time. It’s my word for groups of women instead of saying, “hey guys,” it’s “hello ladies.”
Feminist -- I’m so confused by the unpopularity of the word feminist. I have always been a feminist. I hope I always will be.
1 comment:
You know I love this post. Thoughts:
1) I adamantly write "Ms." but often end up pronouncing it like "Miss." It's harder to make the sound z + a consonant (Ms. Jackson - my sister's title and last name) than it is to say s + a consonant (Miss Jackson), so people slip the "s" in without meaning to. Sometimes being a feminist is exhausting. When else do we have to worry about sloppy pronunciation making a political statement?
2) I use "ladies" all the time and don't have a problem with it - men are called "gentlemen" sometimes so no objections there for me. I have had to fight to use the word "woman." It seems so serious...but why shouldn't we be serious? I have a huge problem calling grown women "girls." You'd never call grown men "boys."
3) Yes. Feminist is also a struggle for me to use in mixed company, but I'm working on it. The only reason it's got a negative connotation is because people who don't agree with feminism have used it hatefully. Reclaim, reclaim!
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