actor, actress, star

[Joel S. Berson]

At 6/16/2011 09:57 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>With high-powered attorney Gloria Allred in support, top-rated Weinergate
>player Ginger Lee held a high-profile media conference yesterday for news
>outlets galaxywide.
>
>When CNN first showed the clip, Lee was described in the on-screen title as
>a former "porn actor."
>
>Later in the day, precisely the same clip described Lee as a former "porn
>actress."
>
>Still later, precisely the same clip described Lee as a former "porn star."
>
>Semantically, WTF?

I can explain this, of course. [ :-) -- but I think my explanation
has some plausibility.]  CNN is sensitive to gender-specific words,
so the first screen title used the currently gender-neutral and
preferred-by-those-in-the profession [I mean the *acting* profession]
term "actor".  Somebody looked at that, decided pornography could not
be gender-neutral (or that there might be some confusion as to
whether Ginger was transsexual, or ...), and changed it to
"actress".  A third person enforced CNN's gender neutrality by
selecting the genderless "star".

Joel

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