In some meetings in London regarding the helicopter market I noticed a big difference in how pleasant well-educated natives spoke about the people who might want to go from Point A to Point B within this cloud-plagued rain-soaked traffic-clogged land. Where an American might have said “executives” or “businesspeople,” the British consistently referred to potential helicopter users as “businessmen.” Nobody seemed surprise by this phrase, not even the female consultants at the global management consultancy conducting the meetings.
Readers: Is this just another example of the persistent inability of people in England to use the English language correctly? Or does the apparent sexism of the language reflect a society that is in fact more sexist than the U.S.?
Possibly nothing sexist here merely yet another word including the part word ‘man’ with multiple meaning. One definition of mankind is ‘the human race : the totality of human beings’. Is this term verboten in polite circles in America? When the AI revolution finally hits paydirt in the next few hundred years, to save a neologism might not the robot (MI) who calls a meeting to order be the chairman?
Everytime I’m in Europe I cringe over the casual sexism and racism. People openly complain about how different ethnicities are rude/late/cheap/whatever and advertising just openly objectifies women.
I’m sure your tongue was in cheek for those questions.
The british left is way crazier and more powerful.
In public, we do… in private, we strive not to be anally retarded.
Is this just another example of the persistent inability of people in England to use the English language correctly?
I met some English and Irish years ago who made a point that the name of the language indicates where you can find the people who speak it correctly. If the language is spoken differently in England than it is spoken in America, the English version must the correct one.
Allowed and widely accepted habit to denigrate someone who can not strike back is a no-cost bonus for having been suffering harsh treatment in socialist top-down society and is a way to keep it (the society) afloat a little longer.