Bill,
It's hard enough for ordinary folk to navigate this brave new world, what with overreaching attempts here (IMHO) at churning out gender non-specific preschool toddlers! I'm all for LGBTQIO+? rights and equality etc (I voted Yes! in our recent plebiscite :t: ) , and of migrant (or non-Anglo) inclusion etc (let's face it from where I sit - on the couch or in a chair
) I'm seeing more migrants than most!
I really can't stand this p*ssyfooting around that we do in this country about allowing fully covered faces, or accused perpetrators that refuse to stand in for the magistrate in court from certain religions. It's an open country - show your face and respect the laws of the country for goodness sake!
I think a better approach than the at times PC madness gone wrong that we so often see, is to represent things proportionally, whilst being very careful to avoid exclusion, limit possibilities, or discriminate by omission .... There are a few Sistas floating around these parts, so I'm not the only test case .... :hippy:
It must be even more fraught for Authors! :eek!:
If ever I'm writing anything I use 'they', 'them', 'their', 'person' etc, though I do particular like using 'man' as an abreviation of 'human' or 'mankind'. I find it helps to have a 'Gender Nazi' proofread. Of course when accompanied by pictures it's happy days - merely identify the genders correspondingly. Most of my writings are locked away with 'Commercial in Confidence' NDA'S - which expire upon my expiry or 2100 whichever comes first! :gn:
I'm a pretty strange cat! :cat: In my Engineering course (Mechanical) at Uni there was about twenty - a dozen females to about ~ 200 males when I started, and numbers for new entrants were about the same when I finished six years later (sandwich course). Employers at the time we're quite keen on "Affirmative Action" EEO policies, but competition was still intense - and as with anything competition improves the breed. :t: Things were a little better when I did my MBA (about 40/60 females - males), though the lack of real representation of females at Senior Executive and Board levels (only about ~8%) from there was puzzling to everyone - my Psychology Professor who had specialized in studying the area for the past 20 years included! I suggested to (him) that it was merely the result of a dog eat dog world ..... :cat:
I proceeded to do a DBA, and even though I had managed admission to the inner sanctum of the Boardroom, found my lack of fluency (or any real ability!
in the parent company Asian language to be a larger barrier .....
I fear this PC madness will lead to our collective demise - the last straw for me was the unethical (IMHO) sacking of the F1 grid girls
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=357243
I am as saddened by the loss of employment opportunities for these young ladies, as I am by the absence of their gorgeous svelte forms on the grid (disclaimer: I've donned the odd pair of hotpants and twirled many an umbrella in my time!
F1 just can't stand another hit after it's naturally aspirated (and otherwise unfettered) soul was ripped out in preference to the vacuum cleaners we are left with now, though the prospects of 50%+ overall efficiencies are peculiarly appealing to the gear head in me - if not my ears. Vale the glory days of supercharged V16 BRM's, and the mid noughties pinnacle of the 3ltr NA V10's .....
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RBKUQPjQ16I
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xKV2WmNsWRI
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mHkW7Icu7Qc
Lordy be! o
Chosun :gh: