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Original poster

The word actress?

132 replies

dottypotter · 02/02/2023 12:27

Everyone is an actor these days.
Females are not referred to as actresses any more.
A female is an actress.
Have I missed something?
Anyone else noticed?

OP posts:
Faradalla · 02/02/2023 12:30

Maybe actresses felt that it didn't sound serious enough. I don't know. Plenty of other languages distinguish between the sexes when describing the job role as part of their grammar and culture. Doesn't offend me but I guess no other jobs roles (that I can think of other than host/hostess) distinguished between the sexes in English.

NowThatIThink · 02/02/2023 12:30

Have you been living under a rock since second-wave feminism? Female poets aren't poetesses, female medics aren't 'lady doctors', female managers aren't 'manageresses'. 'Actress' has held on longer than many of these for various reasons, but it's certainly not a new thing for women actors to use 'actor' and not feel the term used for what they do for a living needs to register their sex.

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 02/02/2023 12:30

I think it's been so for a while - most sex-specific employment terms have now been phased out in favour of unisex titles.

ThreeLittleDots · 02/02/2023 12:32

The word actress is unnecessary and sexist. Comedienne has also fallen out of favour. Good.

CatchYouOnTheFlippetyFlop · 02/02/2023 12:32

'actress' seems like a daft term now. Same as 'manageress'

Glad to move along with the times and move away from such outdated terms

Grenoside · 02/02/2023 12:35

CatchYouOnTheFlippetyFlop · 02/02/2023 12:32

'actress' seems like a daft term now. Same as 'manageress'

Glad to move along with the times and move away from such outdated terms

Exactly!

LivingOnAPrayerYes · 02/02/2023 12:35

Same as WPC dropped.

Why does the same job need to be spit into two titles for sexes?

ThreeLittleDots · 02/02/2023 12:36

Air steward / stewardess = cabin crew / flight attendant

Chairman = chair / chairperson

Fireman = firefighter

WaitingForSunnyDays · 02/02/2023 12:59

Could someone explain in simple terms why it's seen as offensive in some way? Like a PP said, it's standard in many other languages to have a different masculine/feminine term, and it has therefore never bothered me in English. I can kind of see it for terms where there may an inherent default of male, so in the previous example given of Doctor vs Lady Doctor, but even there "doctor" is used for both male and female correctly.

GreaterStickle · 02/02/2023 13:02

YANBU. It’s so silly. This sort of thing is exactly what puts “feminism” in a bad light.

Krakenes · 02/02/2023 13:02

WaitingForSunnyDays · 02/02/2023 12:59

Could someone explain in simple terms why it's seen as offensive in some way? Like a PP said, it's standard in many other languages to have a different masculine/feminine term, and it has therefore never bothered me in English. I can kind of see it for terms where there may an inherent default of male, so in the previous example given of Doctor vs Lady Doctor, but even there "doctor" is used for both male and female correctly.

In your example of doctors, I would find it offensive as you don’t say ‘male doctor’. I would hate to be known as a ‘female’ engineer. We all do the same job, my sex is irrelevant.

NowThatIThink · 02/02/2023 13:04

Could someone explain in simple terms why it's seen as offensive in some way? Like a PP said, it's standard in many other languages to have a different masculine/feminine term

But English doesn't. Why add a suffix to indicate that the person doing the activity, whether it's acting, managing, writing poetry etc is female, when we don't feel the need to have a sexed term to indicate that a man is flying our plane, managing our business etc? Why is male the 'default'?

ScrollingLeaves · 02/02/2023 13:04

Waitress is demeaning compared to waiter in that the latter is more respected, but I don’t think the same is true of ‘actress’ which personally I much prefer.

sanityisamyth · 02/02/2023 13:05

Policewoman has gone too. They're all police officers. Welcome to the 21st century!

Tangerinie · 02/02/2023 13:06

I used to be a waiter and waitress sounds dated. I write waiter if it comes up in a job application as I think waitress sounds a bit weird. Hope nobody gets the wrong end of the stick and thinks I'm a man though 🤔

FuckabethFuckor · 02/02/2023 13:06

I'd answer you but I'm just on the way back from the doctress.

FuckabethFuckor · 02/02/2023 13:07

ThreeLittleDots · 02/02/2023 12:32

The word actress is unnecessary and sexist. Comedienne has also fallen out of favour. Good.

Oh god, 'comedienne'

So 1980s

VioletaDelValle · 02/02/2023 13:08

FuckabethFuckor · 02/02/2023 13:06

I'd answer you but I'm just on the way back from the doctress.

Winning comment!!

VioletaDelValle · 02/02/2023 13:09

GreaterStickle · 02/02/2023 13:02

YANBU. It’s so silly. This sort of thing is exactly what puts “feminism” in a bad light.

Why is it silly?

PizzaNinja · 02/02/2023 13:10

I still use ‘actress’ occasionally, I’d not given it much thought tbh. It appears I’ve been living under a rock since second wave feminism 🫣 I’ve heard women come to MN to be radicalised, I might emerge from the twentieth century at some point …

Switchwitch · 02/02/2023 13:10

ScrollingLeaves · 02/02/2023 13:04

Waitress is demeaning compared to waiter in that the latter is more respected, but I don’t think the same is true of ‘actress’ which personally I much prefer.

It's only demeaning because people value men more.

In general I agree with gender neutral language but it isn't gender neutral half the time, the male term has been adopted (manager, actor) as the default and 'better' option. This means when people think of these roles they are biased to assume men fit them better.

Llovecookies · 02/02/2023 13:11

What's the neutral word for a seamstress?

latetothefisting · 02/02/2023 13:12

I thought the Oscars still used best actress so can't say I agree its not used anymore if the biggest awards in the field still use it.

Can't see any issue with actor being used for both though, nor why it would possibly have any effect on the average person in any way. Why do you care, OP?

FuckabethFuckor · 02/02/2023 13:13

Llovecookies · 02/02/2023 13:11

What's the neutral word for a seamstress?

That depends entirely on how much Terry Pratchett you've read.

girlfriend44 · 02/02/2023 13:16

What about the word divorcee you still hear that.

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