Fishwives

[James A. Landau]

In the "Historia Matematica" mailing list, someone quoted a famous 19th
century mathematician.  I responded by saying that if the mathematician had
really said that, then he was being out of character by acting "like a
fishwife".

Someone with an e-mail address from Mexico wrote me off-list to ask
>
>    Could it not be 'like a fishhusband'?
>

My answer was

"No, because I was referring to a stereotype of the way fishwives talk.
Similarly I used the term "prima donna", which literally is the "first lady"
in an opera.  Both "fishwife" and "prima donna" are used to describe behavior
that can occur among both sexes.  For an opposite example, it is quite
possible to complain that a woman is being "jesuitical", even though to this
day all Jesuits are men."

Still the question remains: was I correct to refer to a male by a female
stereotype?

    - James A. Landau