ACTRESS vs. WAITRESS

[ronbutters at AOL.COM]

But there is a difference between what one might prefer and actual usage. If dictionaries & style manuals are accurate, ACTRESS is still widely accepted, whereas WAITRESS is increasingly avoided as "sexist."
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-----Original Message-----
From: Kari Castor <castor.kari at GMAIL.COM>

Date:         Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:56:08
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject:      Re: [ADS-L] Heard on The Judges: "bartend(e)ress"


This is one of my pet language topics.

As an actor myself, I do reject "actress," just as I also reject "authoress"
as a writer.  For me, the gender distinctions made by these words are
unnecessary and meaningless.

My gender has absolutely no bearing on my ability to write.  And really, my
gender has absolutely no bearing on my ability to play Hamlet, either.  In
theatre especially (as opposed to film and television) gender-bending is
really quite common.  Male actors play female characters, female actors play
male characters, scripts are written with characters of both sexes but
intended for a wholly male or female cast...  Peter Pan is traditionally
played by a woman.

If I call myself an "actress," it's as though I am limiting myself to a
certain subset of the roles available.  I have no desire to impose those
artificial limits on myself.  (After all, I know that casting directors will
be imposing plenty of their own limits on the types of characters I get to
play.)


Kari




On Sun, Jan 25, 2009 at 1:33 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Heard on The Judges: "bartend(e)ress"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 12:53 PM -0500 1/25/09, Bill Palmer wrote:
> >the contrastive "but" implies that the -ess morpheme IS needed in
> "actress',
> >which contradicts the "(unfortunately)"
>
> I was observing that many women who act professionally reject the
> view that it's needed, just as women (and men) in previous
> generations rejected "poetess", "authoress", "sculptress", "Jewess",
> "Negress", etc.  It comes down to whether you think sex is part of
> the job description, and even if this is still largely true for
> casting roles, there is a clear tradeoff.  Describing Meryl Streep as
> the greatest actress of the current era is fainter praise than
> describing her as the greatest actor of the current era by narrowing
> the comparison set. And "waitress" too is also no longer universally
> endorsed, leading to the somewhat risible "waitron", "server", and
> friends.  Of course, "waiter", like "bartender", contains no
> inherently gender-marked suffix and could be reclaimed for general
> use.
>
> LH
>
> >
> >what about "host/hostess"; "headmaster/headmistress" , which come to mind
> >immediately, and, no doubt, many others which do not.
> >
> >Bill Palmer
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: <ronbutters at AOL.COM>
> >To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2009 12:15 PM
> >Subject: Re: Heard on The Judges: "bartend(e)ress"
> >
> >>---------------------- Information from the mail
> >>header -----------------------
> >>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>Poster:       ronbutters at AOL.COM
> >>Subject:      Re: Heard on The Judges: "bartend(e)ress"
>
> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >>I agree with Larry that "barmaid" and "bartender" have different
> meanings.
> >>But why not just "bartender"? The -ess morpheme is still (unfortunately)
> >>conventional in "actress" but not needed elsewhere.
> >>------Original Message------
> >>From: Wilson Gray
> >>Sender: ADS-L
> >>To: ADS-L
> >>ReplyTo: ADS-L
> >>Subject: [ADS-L] Heard on The Judges: "bartend(e)ress"
> >>Sent: Jan 25, 2009 12:41 AM
> >>
> >>Spoken by Judge Joe Brown:
> >>
> >>"Oh. She was the_bartend(e)ress_ at a bikini bar."
> >>
> >>
> >>There are a lot of us more-mature men who are unable to get ready for
> >>the replacement of "barmaid" by "bartender" and who are, therefore,
> >>unconsciously forced to try to do something about it.
> >>
> >>-Wilson
> >>---
> >>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> >>come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >>-----
> >>-Mark Twain
> >>
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> >>
> >>Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
> >>
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>
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