[Ads-l] A newish construction and a newish euphemism

[Baker, John]

As long as there are Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, it is unlikely that the word “actress” will be (successfully) wished to the cornfield.

Since most roles are gender-specific, there does need to be an efficient way to refer to male actors and female actors.  From a functionality perspective, the main problem with the present system is that “actor” can refer either to male actors or to actors generally.


John Baker


From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of W Brewer
Sent: Thursday 4 April 2019 5:03 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: A newish construction and a newish euphemism

I, on the other hand, am shocked -- shocked, I tell you! -- that the
Hollywood stars are actually referred to as "actresses Felicity Huffman and
Lori Loughlin" (by both Washington Post & FoxNews)! One would have thought
that the word "actress" had long since been wished to the cornfield.

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org