LB (LC?): chrome's translate is my friend, and it seems like a really good article
Also, it helps to read the translation because I was halfway through before realizing they meant ie l'autrice vs l'auteur.
Which is making me think about english... I've seen a push to always use "actor" instead of "actress", but because "actress" was considered lesser-than.
So is it worse from a feminist perspective to use the masculine as default (something causing me great consternation in my personal life) or to separate based on gender (which then gets into where you put nonbinary folx)
@dconley The main issue with "male as default" is that it goes only one way; essentially, it's girls taking up male terms to feel less low, but the men never stop *seeing them* as female first, therefore less, no matter what words they use... (See: "guys" as gender-neutral... Have you ever heard a straight man talk of the "guys" he's slept with? Only girls think it's neutral at all! ^^° )
So, it doesn't actually address the gender issue at all, it only hides it. :/
@Louvelune It depends. Things like "author" only have one version, but in many others there are differences: waitor/waitress, actor/actress, steward/stewardess...
@dconley As for actual gender-neutrality, the question gets very complex in languages that are inherently gendered like the roman ones... but in English, you can usually find a male, female AND a different, more neutral way to designate things, no? :/