to want people to use more appropriate language

[SmudgeButt]

I expect a lot of people will say it's a silly thing to want. But I've just filled out a survey for Nectar/Sainsburys and was asked if I used a "manned checkout". Well actually I did - as there was a man at the till.

But is there any reason we can't move into the 21st century and use language which implies that only men work??

I'm tired of being talked to about "man hours" and other "manned" situations. I guess I'm the only one that feels excluded/overlooked/made invisible by all of this.

Man or Manned is just human shortened. I bet you were one of those people who campaigned to get Star Trek to change their opening monologue.

Wish I had the time to stress about things like this. Bloody hell

And other poor souls wish they had the time to fanny about on MN. It’s all relative, innit? ¯\(ツ)/¯

Wouldn’t bother me. I’m a woman but a member of ‘mankind’

I agree. "Staffed" - as opposed to a checkout worked by the customer.

For this very same reason I shall never visit Manchester.

And I, as a feminist atheist, may never go to Godmanchester...

‘If you enjoyed the innkeeper’s wife thread and would be interested in a less entertaining version, why not try...’

I think changing this would be daft and unnecessary.

'Carbon based life form attended' surely?

In the vast choice of things to care about, this is not even on the list.
You knew what they meant. They meant no offence to women (or gender neutral people...). Do you get offended by "Mankind" as a scientific term too?

Woman is quite offensive for the same reason. Maybe it would be more appropriate if we were just called wos. I'm a wo, you're a wo, together we are a pair of wos.

At university 25 years ago it was pointed out that it wasn't acceptable to use the term mankind in written work, we needed to use humanity instead. I'm surprised people still use that one, I thought it was very outdated language.

I can't get worked up about a manned checkout though, because like others I just see it as a shortening of human.

But I agree that there are too many words where we are expected to accept the male as default. I just don't feel like a manned checkout is one of them.

Jesus wept.

You have to be taking the piss surely?

Wish I had the time to stress about things like this. Bloody hell

Yep, the OP's got time to think about whether it is important to challenge the use of sexist language, and apparently you've got time to post on MN threads about things you clearly don't care about. It looks like you both have time. Whether or not one agrees about the examples the OP has given, it is pretty clear which one of you is using your time in a more intelligent way.

The best part for me is that it actually was a man, in this case!

YABU.

like others I just see it as a shortening of human.

You can choose to pretend it is if you want, but you do know that 'man' isn't in fact a shortening of human, right?

With this and the innkeepers wife thread I feel like the world has truly gone mad.

Look up the definition of 'manned'. It refers to humans in general, not half of them.

staffed doesn't though and avoids the problem.

What about a charity shop manned by volunteers 😂

Ffs. It’s short for human.

Are we offended by the term Mankind now as well?

Best not go the the Isle of Man on holiday

Oh boy

YABU

Maybe it's based on the word huMAN and not sex?

^This

It's stupid posts like this that set dealing with the real issues back years, I really thought we'd got over this nonsense. Do grow up dear.

Very interesting to see that language doesn’t matter and isn’t important. That it doesn’t reflect and describe our world and the possibilities open to us.

I think the use of staffed is better.

Man isn't 'short for human'. It's Germanic, whereas the word human is Latin in origin. It needn't be gender-specific though.

Yet again, a site populated mostly by women who cannot see past their own internalised misogyny to see that the „default male“ is one of the main reasons that we all grow up internalising the idea of women are lesser, afterthoughts in a world designed for males.

Wake up, women. Wake up.