In reply to:
worthless anyday in MHO, are words like
Hostess (why not just host?)
waitress ( ~waiter or server)
aviatrix ( ~aviator/pilot/flyer)
actress (~actor/performer)
stewardess ( ~steward/attendant)
Which brings me back to a question I asked earlier. If you object to gender based distinctions, why do you yourself make a distinction between a milliner and a hatter? The difference you note is gender-based. You said that the only difference between a milliner and a hatter was the gender of the person for whom the hat was being made. Isn't that just as arbitrary a distinction as any of those listed above? I'm not a mother yet, but it struck me while reading your list that mother and father should both be eliminated, if your rule is applied. We have a non-gender specific alternative, parent. Would you say, "Don't call me a mother, I'm a parent?"
