Without a question mark army, I am saying exactly what I said. I'm not recommending little kids use Harleys instead of training wheels. Nor would I say they're using motorcycles.
I'm surprised this quiz hasn't been called out. I'm a guy, but half of these terms are archaic and should be identified as such. Chairman - out of date. Just chair or president. No one says Anchorman anymore - just anchor. Some of the older words like highwayman are probably OK, but anything in a modern context needs rethinking.
They are real words, with real meanings, archaic or not. No one wants the language police going around deciding for everyone else what is ok to discuss or not to discuss.
Believing that "anything in a modern context needs rethinking" is leading to whole generations of people who are ill prepared to do even cursory critical thinking or accept that there will be things in their life that they might not agree with.
Rethinking social norms IS critical thinking. Having a debate about whether the social norms of yesterday are appropriate today requires logic and a connection to the world we live in. I definitely don't agree that "chairman" is archaic, but removing the term from the lexicon because it might promote male dominance isn't going to destroy the minds of the current generation. You might disagree that terms like "chairman" normalizes the stereotype that men should be in charge, but your argument makes a huge leap without much... well... critical thinking.
You both totally missed my point. jm said "chairman is out of date", while in fact it's a totally appropriate term, as "chairmen" exist today in organizations everywhere. Why then should this quiz be "called out"? At no point did I claim (nor did Quizmaster claim) that "chairman" should be applied to ALL instances. It's just an answer in a quiz, but apparently people get triggered by such a thing. It's ridiculous, there's nothing offensive at all in this quiz.
tofani makes a huge leap in assuming something I didn't say regarding women as peers. Did I actually say that "chairwoman" or "chair" is inappropriate??
Dimby, the "language police" are real and damaging, and they DO harm children and others. If you're willing to do your own critical thinking, I'll leave you with this recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Language-Police-Pressure-Restrict-Students/dp/1400030641
You provided two arguments. The first is that Jetpunkers don't want the language police censoring our quizzes. The second is that discussing whether societal norms need "rethinking" will damage the ability of young people to critically think. Like I said, "chairman" is not archaic, and I think it is appropriate for the quiz. I assume most Jetpunkers aren't going to seriously complain about a "-man" vocabulary quiz being sexist. As for your second argument, I read through a PDF version of the book you recommended and it doesn't support that argument. She is not complaining about the discussion of societal norms, but of the ridiculous process of censoring educational material entirely. There is an awfully big difference between discussing why a racial slur shouldn't be used and banning Huckleberry Finn. The discussion encourages critical thinking, the banning of Huckleberry Finn discourages it. Anyway, your phrasing sounds like you want people to shut up and not discuss it. So...
I generally agree with Dimby's comments, but I also object to the initial comment. The OP apparently feels that quiz should be "called out" for including terms that were in use historically and which continue to be accurate when describing male-identified persons in certain positions today. I don't think that's necessary. I do think that gender-neutral terms are preferable in general, but that's not the point of the quiz. And really, I doubt anyone is being harmed by the inclusion of such terms in a light-hearted quiz on the internet. Why choose to get upset about it?
Well said. It seems the person who got most upset about this in the end was joeythelemur, oddly enough.
"It's just an answer in a quiz, but apparently people get triggered by such a thing. It's ridiculous, there's nothing offensive at all in this quiz." 🤔 Who's triggered?
"Member of the US House of Representatives" should be specified. There are many Houses of Representatives in dozens of countries with members that aren't called "congressmen"
This makes me wonder why cowboys are cowmen. I think I have heard of cattlemen.
For that matter, why did some professions develop names with man in the name but others have gendered forms, e.g. butler, actor, etc. maybe something to do with wether the word came from another language or was invented by English speakers.
Last, the Good Fellas fanboy in me wanted to see a clue for “high ranking mafia member,” but I suppose that is not a true word.
I prefer the very haunting The Highwayman song by Willie, Waylon, Johnny, and Kris, "I was a highwayman...the bastards hung me in the spring of '25 but I am still alive..."
Agreeing with previous comments—these are not “vocabulary words ending in man” they are outdated titles for roles that are no longer exclusively held by men. Time for an update! And as an example, “laywoman” also ends in “man” though honestly not any better because it still perpetuates an outdated gender binary. Probably best to just retire the quiz.
These are not outdated titles, "man" is inclusive of both genders, not just male. When a word ends in "man" it covers both men and women. As there are no other genders, it becomes all inclusive.
got 5 wrong, had never heard of lineman and longshoreman (tried loads with that one, dock, harbour etc) and don't know about bondsman, don't think so.
The two others I missed sort of steered me in the wrong direction. When I think about fencing I think about a foil or epee, not a sword. Can you call it swordfighting?? to me those are not swords, but that could be a language barrier (or just me..).
And for henchman, it felt the question revered to the 2nd in command (like a sidekick, but could think of a good word) not its footmen. Henchmen I believe are above footmen, though I have generally seen it being used when the villain had several henchman. And reading the clue it felt like it was pointing at a single person. (I acknowledge the question still works revering to something there are more of)
Not calling anything wrong, just noting why I had difficulties with these two.
Wedding attendant = ?
Military dictator = ?
Boxer's aide = ?
And just for fun:
Do you know him? He lives on Drury Lane...
:)
Strongman
Cutman
Muffinman
Believing that "anything in a modern context needs rethinking" is leading to whole generations of people who are ill prepared to do even cursory critical thinking or accept that there will be things in their life that they might not agree with.
The lack of self-awareness is jaw-dropping.
tofani makes a huge leap in assuming something I didn't say regarding women as peers. Did I actually say that "chairwoman" or "chair" is inappropriate??
Dimby, the "language police" are real and damaging, and they DO harm children and others. If you're willing to do your own critical thinking, I'll leave you with this recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Language-Police-Pressure-Restrict-Students/dp/1400030641
"It's just an answer in a quiz, but apparently people get triggered by such a thing. It's ridiculous, there's nothing offensive at all in this quiz." 🤔 Who's triggered?
For that matter, why did some professions develop names with man in the name but others have gendered forms, e.g. butler, actor, etc. maybe something to do with wether the word came from another language or was invented by English speakers.
Last, the Good Fellas fanboy in me wanted to see a clue for “high ranking mafia member,” but I suppose that is not a true word.
The two others I missed sort of steered me in the wrong direction. When I think about fencing I think about a foil or epee, not a sword. Can you call it swordfighting?? to me those are not swords, but that could be a language barrier (or just me..).
And for henchman, it felt the question revered to the 2nd in command (like a sidekick, but could think of a good word) not its footmen. Henchmen I believe are above footmen, though I have generally seen it being used when the villain had several henchman. And reading the clue it felt like it was pointing at a single person. (I acknowledge the question still works revering to something there are more of)
Not calling anything wrong, just noting why I had difficulties with these two.