Chairperson
Why is a man a chairman but a woman a ‘chairperson’? The irritating word is back in force with Maria Micallef’s (congratulations, Maria) appointment at Air Malta.
But Maria Micallef is no less the chairman than Ray Fenech, who has just stepped down, was. Though it might seem gender-specific, the word is in fact gender-neutral. It belongs to the same family of words as ‘ombudsman’ – and as far as I can gather, nobody has tried to speak or write in terms of an ombudsperson or an ombudswoman.
Malta may never have had a woman as ombudsman, but other places have and she remains resolutely the ombudsman. All the fuss is about the chair – and the fuss has become so great that ‘chair’ has ended up replacing ‘chairman’ altogether.
The man in this case does not signify a male human being but is the Germanic ‘man’ – a human being, regardless of gender. Chairman actually means ‘chairperson’, but sounds more civilised.
If I were the chairman of something, that is exactly how I would insist on being described, and what my business cards would specify. Imagine a business card that says JANE DOE, Chairperson, Air Malta or worse, JANE DOE, Chairwoman, Air Malta.
Of course, one reason ‘chairwoman’ seems more offensive than it really is is that it is just one vowel (and a minor inflection of a vowel sound) away from ‘charwoman’.
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Congratulations, but well, taghna lkoll once again. She’s not been in the public eye much, but has certainly been lapping up to Fuzzy-Jo in these last few years.
Sexist bull. Saw this one yesterday. Some people are really sad. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2680268/Mark-Lawrenson-sexist-remark-Argentina-vs-Switzerland-commentary-sees-BBC-receive-170-complaints.html
Incidentally, nor does watchdog refer to a dog.
That would then become a watchbitch.
Agreed. I was once called ‘sexist’ for insisting that a Chairman title is gender-neutral.
‘Charwoman’ didn’t start out offensive.
It simply meant tea lady, ‘char’ being tea. So much so that ‘would you like a cuppa cha, love’ was something quite common to hear up until a few years ago – well a few decades ago. Time does get on.
To give her some credit, I recall that Marlene Mizzi used to insist that she should be addressed as Chairman when she used to head Seamalta.
Has anyone found out what Edgar Preca should be called? Would he be the first ladyman?
Don’t be so ageist. He would be the First Ladyboy.
Pastizz devot.
Decoration perhaps?
Interesting topic, but I don’t think it’s as clear as that. Even the second most powerful country in the world is grappling with this:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/yellen-fed-chairman-or-chairwoman.html
And why are we all perfectly happy with ‘police woman’?
“The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and United Press International all use chairwoman or chairman for women, and forbid use of chair or chairperson except in direct quotations.”
Postman became a Postperson when females were introduced. Postperson, maybe that will change when animals will someday be recruited.
[Daphne – Women, please, not ‘females’. Female human beings are WOMEN.]
All this nonsense is due to extremist feminists going overboard in the employment of stupid “politically correct language.
And there is another change. It’s personhole, not manhole, anymore.
And cocktails?
HP with all the hype at the moment on gender and civil rights and what not….that may sound, to some, like a brilliant idea! So if I were you don’t let anyone at the OPR hear you they may just commend that thought !
I decided I’d had enough when my boss (a woman) stopped my colleague in mid-Powerpoint and gave him a dressing down for using the word “manpower”.
U jekk il-Man Utd jahtru manager mara?
Cajt apparti – nahseb li kultant aktar mal-“moviment femminista” (hu m’inhu) jaghmel sforz fuq dawn l-affarijiet (chairman, etc) aktar jiddevja l-attenzjoni minn fuq kwistjonijiet li verament izommu lin-nisa minn post aktar xieraq fis-socjeta’, u f’ghajnejn is-socjeta’ in generali (nisa u rgiel) jidhru aktar bhala persuni ffissati li m’ghandhomx verament ghal qalbhom l-avvanz tal-mara.