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Dog as masculine (the watchdog debate)
Gretchen (JOHNSG@CARLETON.EDU)
Wed, 7 Feb 1996 19:34:22 -0600
Hello. This is my first posting to the list, and I hope this isn't a bad way
to start off, but I am curious...
>I had no idea of anyone being insulted. It just suddenly struck me that
>``dog'' is at least as masculine a term as ``man'' is.
Why do you say this? Is cat or fish a sexist term? Would watchcanine be
better? I could see why, if someone had called it (please excuse the language)
a watchbitch, that that would be entirely sexist and just plain rude. But dog
is just a taxonomic nomenclature. Same as fish, cat and giraffe. It does have
some male connotations, but I wouldn't think they'd be enough to make the term
watchdog a sexist one.
Anyway, as I said, this is my first posting, so if I've missed something
drastic, please forgive me.
-Gretchen Johns
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