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Since 'man' and 'men' have become exclusive, terms such as 'crewed/uncrewed' are being used to fill in the gap left by manned/unmanned, but it occurs to me that 'crewed' does not really work with, for example, an unmanned border post. What would AWADers suggest instead?

While we're at it, does anyone know of a 'definitive' list of alternatives to the common male-centric terminology?


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I dunno. We'll probably need some input from the wopersons in the group.


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well a border post exist for a reason--perhaps it is automated?

so rather than unmanned it is a automated (or automatic) border post? with electronic recording devices.


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> well a border post exist for a reason--perhaps it is automated?

Yeah, I know what you mean, but I was thinking more along the lines of this: 'The border post was unmanned at the time we crossed.'

I guess you could say, 'There were no border personnel at the post when we crossed', but that's changing things around quite a lot.


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>>an unmanned border post<<

An opportunity.


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Juliet

    Come, civil night,
Thou sober-suited matron, all in black,
And learn me how to lose a winning match,
Played for a pair of stainless maidenhoods.
Hood my unmanned blood, bating in my cheeks,
With thy black mantle till strange love grow bold,
Think true love acted simple modesty.
Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night;
For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night
Whiter than new snow upon a raven's back.

Unmanned here means untamed. Nice usage of the verb to learn, too.

[While in another play ...]

Lady Macbeth: What, quite unmann'd in folly?

Macbeth: If I stand here, I saw him.

Lady Macbeth: Fie, for shame!



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How about staffed/unstaffed? Works better for me than crewed/uncrewed.


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When we got to the border crossing post, we found it was delicate.



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> How about staffed/unstaffed? Works better for me than crewed/uncrewed.

Good suggestion. I'm sure there are other circumstances where 'staffed' wouldn't work quite as well, but it works well here. It may, for example, sound a little weird to say an 'unstaffed crane'; I think then reverting to 'uncrewed' may be better.


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Such a great thread! I wonder if anybody has any answers for the second part of BYouth's initial post, about a "definitive" (I suppose meaning more or less accepted) list of gender-neutral terms that are preferrable to some of the so-called discriminatory ones?

Thanks!


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