Referring to jobs by gender...like Male nurse

Marie5656

Marie5656

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Location
Batavia, NY
I was watching a program on TV today where some models were being interviewed about the whole sexual harassment thing. I am not speaking of the harassment, but of the fact there were both men and women being interviewed..but the women were just referred to as models, but the men as male models. Same thing with nurses. There are nurses, and then "male nurses".

Why do you think we do this? I note it is especially with careers usually held by females. I mean, why do we not say female nurse or model? Or female doctor or something?

I know it is not the most earth shattering thing to be thinking about, but do you ever wonder about why we say that?


 

I think it's just because historically most nurses, models, stewardesses, etc. were women. I have heard of and use the term woman doctor at times.
 
yep that's the way they used to be here...but nowadays it's become androgynous... it's either a Model or an actor ( no actress) or comedian ( no comedienne). or nurse ( no male or female nurse)..
 

I always thought it was dopey to add the "male" or "female" to a given profession. Now, if a woman was a "male nurse" in her professional life, THEN it might make sense to tack on the gender distinction! Same with a guy being a "female model." (Yeah, we have tons of female impersonators in our world, I know.)
 
Like this one for example... He's called Courtney act..but it's just a stage name. he's a guy through and through although openly gay , and has no desire whatsoever to become a woman, but he 's the best drag artist I've ever seen, but to him it's a job nothing more. ( he refers to himself as a Grnder illusionist) . ... ( so maybe he'd have to be explained as a Male model if he didn't go on in traditional over the top drag..and appeared anywhere as he does in this video looking for all the world like a real female )..

 
Used to be unusual to see female doctor, engineer, architect,........ a male nurse, secy was very rare. But at the university dental school where I go for cleanings half the students are female and I also see quite a few minorities. (not just the hygienists, in the waiting area I see the up & coming dentists* come to greet their patients). Big change from how it used to be.

*and most are easy on the eyes... :grin:
 
Most of us probably remember when it was 'mailman,' 'fireman,' 'policeman' and all of those other classifications that excluded women. It's a nice change.

Another common description I wish we would drop is 'black' or 'Asian' (or whatever). I've noticed people tend to say black man or Asian man instead of that man. Unless you're describing a suspect to the police, I see no reason to make that distinction.
 
I think little by little we are moving away from gender-specific job titles. For instances, most restaurants now use "server" instead of waiter or waitress. And I think all people who act are called actors.

It's funny how some jobs have never had gender-specific names. Examples: dancer, singer, teacher, scientist, professor, president, senator, mayor, lawyer, etc. And others have always had them. One more example of the craziness of English. I wonder how it is in other languages.
 
In the Romance languages, nouns have genders. So in those languages you automatically know the gender assigned to the noun by the spelling of the word. Also by the article "the" in Spanish is "la" if feminine or "el" if masculine. There are exceptions, however.

So I guess maybe people always found it helpful to know the gender of a person's career. Why? I don't really know.
 
I've noticed the use of the term male model for decades. I guess, to answer your question, it is because those professions are usually thought of as being held by women. I still am not crazy about referring to actresses as actors.
 
Smiling Jane said:
Most of us probably remember when it was 'mailman,' 'fireman,' 'policeman' and all of those other classifications that excluded women. It's a nice change.

Another common description I wish we would drop is 'black' or 'Asian' (or whatever). I've noticed people tend to say black man or Asian man instead of that man. Unless you're describing a suspect to the police, I see no reason to make that distinction.
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I agree. I have long felt that the way we sort ourselves into groups such as these tends to solidify division among us. It also implies that groups such as these are somehow monolithic groups who all have the same characteristics, tendencies and feelings, and I do not believe that this is true. We are all just people and I'd like to see us all be just "Americans."
 
I thought the term "female Doctor" referred to a OB/GYN, and did not necessarily indicate the gender of said MD
 
SeaBreeze said:
I think it's just because historically most nurses, models, stewardesses, etc. were women. I have heard of and use the term woman doctor at times.
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SeaBreeze----It's best if you do not call a flight attendant a stewardess anymore. But, you are correct. A female F/A was at one time referred to as a Stewardess. When males began taking on that role, the job title was changed to Flight Attendant. Today, our F/A's, both males and females, much more prefer the title of Flight Attendant. I learned early in my career not to get involved in gender specific roles conversations.

At United, we also have female pilots, both as First Officers and Captains. I do remember reading in my union magazine some time ago that Qantas Airways leads the industry with female pilots. In fact, there have been a few instances over the past years that a female pilot from Qantas has won their pilot of the year award. United has no such program, but it is a worthy distinction for anyone to win an award for being the best at what they do, IMO. It's like being an actor/actress and winning an Oscar.

United does encourage females to become pilots and often recruit from flight schools. I have flown with many women and everyone of them have been as capable as any male.
 
I'm so guilty of using the "old fashioned" names (policeman,mailman,etc) it's just 65 years worth of habit. I have to consciously correct myself before speaking or the old terms just slip out.
 
oldman said:
SeaBreeze----It's best if you do not call a flight attendant a stewardess anymore. But, you are correct. A female F/A was at one time referred to as a Stewardess. When males began taking on that role, the job title was changed to Flight Attendant.
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I rarely fly Oldman and the last time I did, there were only stewardesses serving on the plane, I don't recall seeing any men, or maybe there was one and I didn't pay attention. During my working years a couple of times I took the position of Union Steward and had no problem being called that even though I was a woman. One gal told me I should demand they call me stewardess instead of steward. I thought that was ridiculous at the time. Guess people these days are extra sensitive and PC, I think if I started delivering mail and they called me the mailman, I wouldn't care either. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, in some things anyway. :D
 
Back in the 70's, I was working at a large metropolitan daily newspaper. We were directed by the Department of Labor to cease using the words male, man, girl, woman, lady, etc. in classified help wanted ads and we were given a list of "approved" titles. For instance, instead of advertising for a "foreman", we were supposed to say "Blue Collar Worker Supervisor". Instead of "craftsman", it was "crafts and kindred worker". Forget "Girl Friday" or "warehouseman". Nuh-huh...

We thumbed our noses at the list and nothing ever came of it.
 
I HATE to hear the term "girls" used when referring to females at the workplace....usually when talking about secretarial/clerical support staff. The worst offenders are often other women. At one place where I worked 1998 - 2001, the (female) office manager said it all the time. I objected and was blown off..."That's the way we talk around here." GRRRRR. :mad: Sounds like a scene from the TV show "Mad Men".
But I never heard the term when I worked in state govt office (late 70s - mid 80s)
 

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