E-Verse Radio

Bethany’s Top Five Words in English in which the Feminine is the Unmarked Category

by Ernie on 11/02/10 at 10:25 am

“Unmarked category” means the default. So for many words, for a long time, one assumed it was used to refer to a man, unless someone specifically stated it was a woman. This is why one might say “woman doctor.” Otherwise it might be assumed that when one says “doctor,” one means a man. This usage is falling away as people become used to seeing women in what were formerly men’s-only roles. But English has a bunch of antiquated terms to refer to women in particular roles, such as songstress, huntress, jewess, authoress, etc. Only a few are still used: heiress, actress, goddess, hostess, and the formal titles, like countess. But a few words have long been used to refer mainly to women, and need to be modified to convey that one is talking about a man. For example:

5. Widow (masculine: widower)

4. Witch (man-witch is one alternative)

[What about Warlock? - E]

3. Whore or prostitute (man-whore or male prostitute)

[Again, Bethany, there are the alternative words gigolo and rent boy. - E]

2. Nurse (male nurse)

1. Mistress (meaning someone with whom a married person is having an affair). “Master” is not the masculine of this. There’s no simple way to refer to a man who a married woman is having an affair with. (yeah I know there’s “gigolo,” but that’s a new word, from the 1920s, and was adapted from a word for a [female] prostitute).

Ernie

Ernest Hilbert is founder of E-Verse Radio.

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