AIBU - sexist science homework

[Litchick]

Lst night's science homework was to write a short passage about a famous scientist, what they discovered and its applications today.

Fine except that each question said 'he'.

Eg what was his name? What did he discover?

DD and I chose Marie Curie and changed everything to she.

AIBU to make the point on the prep sheet or just touchy?
Does it matter? It felt to me like it does. Grrrr

merryH on an open anonymous forum i neither seek to or can prescribe how anyone communicates or conducts themselves.nor can you

it is a self driven individual act to type word on screen.it isn't usually a shared group activity

Oooh - I wonder if people have done conversation analysis or whatever it's called on internet forums compared to verbal group talk. I bet they have...

which begs the question why you type something prefaced by a name in response to what she wrote.

Unless this is all some very cunning Turing test I think there's somebody real somewhere!

I did say I'd respond to anything specific - edam, I can't let you get away with that dig about "wanting the option that puts the masculine first". That's not true. It wilfully misses my point that (s)he makes more sense than s/he, and I've said he/she can be she/he as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter.

How much more clearly do I need to spell it out???

Oh OK UQD, I'll let you off, but back down when we were orginally discussing it, you did keep talking about 'he/she' which just seemed a bit odd.

(I like your version with the brackets actually, v good. Might adopt it. But that wasn't what you offered back down there when we were arguing!)

Well, it's one option, and I'd like to think you can use it if you like. Where we differ is I'd not jump on "he" either.

I do think the question of "he" is a more complex one than simple sexism.

Well yes but I think sexism is the biggest issue, given how woeful progress has been in women getting anything like equal representations in positions of power, or having half the money, or anything.

Happy to debate grammar and usage all day long, though.

This is probably my problem with spending too much time on "he", edam. Same with some other feminist debates like "ms" [she says, risking opening a whole other can of worms]. I appreciate that they are relevant obviously but I would far rather focus my energies on campaigning for more "real" issues like representation, promotion, pay, rights etc.

Obviously I am massively oversimplifying as one can inform the other but sometimes I think that the focus on really important issues - those which actually affect my life - is lost to (what can sometimes be) slightly pedantic arguments.

"Well yes but I think sexism is the biggest issue, given how woeful progress has been in women getting anything like equal representations in positions of power, or having half the money, or anything."

I really wish we could be brave enough to be more open minded on these things. There is no doubt that women were forced into domestic roles 40 years ago. But things have changed a lot since then. Still parroting the same rhetoric, I personally feel, weakens the feminist argument, as it seems reliant on myth and hyperbole rather than seriously analysing the issues to hand from mul;tible perspectives, in order to get as close to an accurate representation of what is happening.

But all we get are true observations - 'women do not make up 50% of the powerful jobs force' (though those jobs and how powerful is defined is highly relative) - coupled with the myth and rhetoric - 'this is becasue of sexism'. A much more complex picture has emerged over the last 20 years, much of it revealing womens direct agency. But because it doesn't chime with the old style rhetoric, it is dismissed (by feminists anyway - which is why feminists have little to do with power or policy these days; their reluctance to look at thinks from an objective perspective)

Excuse me? My post was perfectly reasonable and polite. You may disagree with me but there is no reason to be so rude.

And I think you are rather missing the point. Would you claim that racism is all in peoples' imaginations, or is it just sexism that you don't think happens/matters any more?

What the flip are you on about 'rude'? Rude?

I said "we" not "you". Stand down soldier!

"Still parroting the same rhetoric", "myth and rhetoric" "dismissing" what you claim is the truth... sounded pretty darn rude to me.

Oh sorry? You mean rude to feminism not to any real person in particular. Okay. If you see feminism before me, please tell her I'm sorry for hurting her fee;ings.

pmsl

No, your post appeared to be responding to mine hence the rudeness appeared to be directed at me. I think that's an entirely reasonable interpretation.

Edam. Are you being serious? It was a respinse to your post. Now I know you know the difference between addressing an argument and an individual.

Well you did quote edam's post at the top of yours and then start talking about "parroting the same rhetoric" etc - it did look a little personal.

But never mind rude, what on earth did you mean? I've read it 3 times and I still can't make sense of it - certainly not in relation to what edam said anyway.

No worries. I give the lunatics the asylum.