This is a table documenting the incidence of the marked feminine form for various professions within Wikipedia. Incidences of gender-neutral or masculine form comparison terms are presented for context and contrast.
Gendered terms can be interpreted as sexist, particularly when the person's sex is beside the point. Through semantic derogation, words that refer to women have acquired belittling or sexual connotations.[1] Linguist Dennis Baron has written that, in the English language, feminine nouns "tend to acquire negative connotations at a much faster rate than masculine or neuter ones, creating semantic imbalances in originally parallel masculine/feminine gender pairs."[2] While most of the terms included here are constructed through suffixation (e.g. lawyer-ess), gender-marked forms may also be constructed through compounding (e.g. she-devil; lady-doctor). Compounds of this sort often have a negative or even contemptuous connotation.
Relevant guidelines for editors include:
- Wikipedia's Manual of Style says to "use gender-neutral language where this can be done with clarity and precision".
- Wikipedia:Gender-neutral language (WP:GNL) elucidates on the guideline
- Wikipedia:Use modern language (WP:MODLANG) gives further guidance
| Feminine form | April 2015α | compare to | April 2015α | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| actress | 132025 | actor | 220350 | |
| administratrix | 63 | administrator | 50858 | |
| adventuress | 493 | adventurer | 9159 | Adventuress is sometimes used pejoratively to indicate a woman who uses her sexuality for personal advancement (OED) |
| airwoman | 30 | airman | 2588 | |
| ambassadress | 107 | ambassador | 54320 | Ambassadress can cause confusion as it may be used to refer to a woman ambassador or the wife of an ambassador. |
| authoress | 122 | author | 316748 | • According to the Oxford English Dictionary, authoress is "now used only when sex is purposely emphasized; otherwise, ...author is now used of both sexes." • World Book Dictionary labels the term authoress "archaic". • Collins English Dictionary gives authoress the caveat "Now usually disparaging", also old-fashioned; derogatory • Wiktionary deems authoress "dated" • Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English says authoress is "old-fashioned" • the WordReference English-French Dictionary calls authoress "dated" • the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary calls authoress "old-fashioned" • whereas Merriam Webster's Learner's Dictionary deems authoress to be only "somewhat old-fashioned" • The Columbia Guide to Standard American English refers to authoress as "archaic or even obsolete" |
| aviatrix | 271 | aviator | 13016 | • The Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language calls aviatrix "now rare" • Language and the Sexes says aviatrix has a "clear trivializing effect" • The SAGE Handbook of Sociolinguistics points out that aviatrix tends to "carry negative connotations having undergone processes of semantic slippage" • The Columbia Guide to Standard American English refers to aviatrix as "archaic or even obsolete" |
| bachelorette | 975 | bachelor | 73658 | |
| chanteuse | 559 | |||
| chorine | 74 | Primarily used in the U.S. • The Columbia Guide to Standard American English refers to chorine as "archaic or even obsolete" | ||
| comedienne | 2182 | comedian | 34133 | |
| concertmistress | 21 | concertmaster | 1159 | |
| conductress | 31 | conductor | 33046 | |
| creatrix | 25 | creator | 56033 | |
| crewed | 109627 | manned | 12471 | |
| danseuse | 357 | danseur | 289 | • The Columbia Guide to Standard American English refers to danseuse as "archaic or even obsolete" |
| directress | 116 | director | 396088 | |
| doctoress | 10 | doctor | 123624 | According to OED, "Now only used when sex is emphasized; in which case also woman-doctor, lady-doctor, are more common". |
| doctress | 19 | doctor | 123624 | |
| editress | 5 | editor | 191001 | |
| equestrienne | 86 | |||
| executrix | 207 | executor | 3398 | |
| giantess | 346 | giant | 102484 | |
| heiress | 8260 | heir | 35824 | |
| heroine | 9640 | hero | 115402 | |
| hostess | 4720 | host | 239819 | |
| huntress | 958 | hunter | 85532 | |
| instructress | 38 | instructor | 31417 | |
| Jewess | 315 | Jew | 54544 | World Book Dictionary notes "Formerly common, Jewess, and similar -ess compound forms, are now avoided, and perceived to be disparaging." |
| landlady | 1887 | landlord | 10452 | |
| laundress | 331 | laundry worker | 26 | |
| lawyeress | 5 | lawyer | 94479 | |
| manageress | 181 | manager | 198062 | OED says manager "is now often preferred as not gender-specific." |
| mayoress | 305 | mayor | 186889 | Mayoress may be used to refer to a woman mayor or the wife of a mayor. |
| meter maid | 68 | Primarily used in the U.S. | ||
| millionairess | 154 | millionaire | 12624 | |
| murderess | 307 | murderer | 120880 | |
| narratrix | 1 | narrator | 17629 | |
| paintress | 13 | painter | 77154 | |
| patroness | 1184 | patron | 47125 | |
| poetess | 822 | poet | 108926 | • OED notes that the "gender-neutral poet is now often preferred". • Patrick H. Vincent notes that "the term poetess plays into the prescribed notion of a woman's poetry that is excessively emotional and lacking in structure." • The SAGE Handbook of Sociolinguistics points out that poetess tends to "carry negative connotations having undergone processes of semantic slippage" • The Columbia Guide to Standard American English refers to poetess as "archaic or even obsolete" • In 1919, poet Marguerite Wilkinson wrote "... the word 'poetess,' with all its suggestion of tepid and insipid achievement, has gone out of fashion."[3] |
| postmistress | 321 | postmaster | 8950 | |
| prophetess | 517 | prophet | 17692 | |
| proprietress | 169 | proprietor | 9896 | |
| proprietrix | 4 | |||
| Quakeress | 17 | |||
| prosecutrix | 5 | prosecutor | 18010 | |
| protectress | 184 | protector | 11407 | |
| sculptress | 217 | sculptor | 30481 | |
| seamstress | 1451 | |||
| songstress | 730 | singer | 215886 | |
| starlet | 2514 | |||
| stewardess | 1145 | flight attendant | 1461 | |
| tailoress | 26 | tailor | 14116 | |
| testatrix | 22 | testator | 337 | |
| uncrewed | 83 | unmanned | 6667 | |
| usherette | 114 | usher | 12208 | • The Columbia Guide to Standard American English refers to usherette as "archaic or even obsolete" |
| waitress | 5342 | waiter | 5545 | The gender-neutral server is often used. |
| warrioress | 17 | warrior | 64765 |
- ^α Data collected on 10 April 2015.
See also edit
- On -ess
- Entry for -ess from the 4th edition American Heritage Dictionary (2000):
Many critics have argued that there are sexist connotations in the use of the suffix -ess to indicate a female in words like sculptress, waitress, stewardess, and actress. The heart of the problem lies in the nonparallel use of terms to designate men and women. For example, the -or ending on sculptor seems neutral or unmarked. By comparison, sculptress seems to be marked for gender, implying that the task of sculpting differs as performed by women and men or even that the task should typically be performed by a man. For occupational titles, the use of -ess has been almost completely replaced by recently formed gender-neutral compounds such as flight attendant and letter carrier or by the -er/-or forms.
- Entry for -ess from the Random House Dictionary (2013):
If the sex of the performer is not relevant to performance of the task or function, the neutral term in -er or -or is now widely used.
Notes edit
- ^ "Semantic derogation." Language, Society and Power: An Introduction (2010)
- ^ Chapter 7: Marked Women, Grammar and Gender (1986)
- ^ Wilkinson, Marguerite (1919). New Voices: An Introduction to Contemporary Poetry. New York: Macmillan Company. p. 277.