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)
The solution is to use the -trix suffix for female terms because that is objectively more awesome than -tor, so everyone will want to use the feminine version of things.
(Because I did leave out the third option above, of "use the feminine as default", which is actually where I think I'd be happiest personally, since I'm enby but am tired of masculine as default)
@dconley i tend to think using feminine version of words isn't a solution, it's just the opposite of things as they are. Neutral would be a good thing, easier once they're set up.
@Nemo Yeah, it's the opposite of the oppression we have now, but as an interim solution I do think it's better than the status quo? Though there's a 0% chance of mainstream adoption of it, for sure.
"La grammaire féministe (à paraître, 2017)"
JE SUIS HYPE
(je suis excité 😜 )
@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. :/
@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? :/
@Louvelune It depends. Things like "author" only have one version, but in many others there are differences: waitor/waitress, actor/actress, steward/stewardess...
Plus it's nice to be able to read it piece by piece and see the translation. Though it's translated "genre" (here obviously always "gender") as "genre", "genus" and "gender".