rabalac
New member
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2011
- Member Type
- Other
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- United States
- Current Location
- United States
Hello All:
This is my very first post on this board, which I did not know exist until about an hour ago. From what I've read thus far, this seems like a great forum to be a part of. Oops, I just broke the rule of ending a sentance with a preposition. Sorry.
Anyway, one of my many beef(s) is with the media's (written and spoken) use of the words "female" versus "woman". When is it appropriate (if ever)to use woman instead of female. And more importantly, can you use "man" instead of "male".
Scenario 1: If Hilary Clinton had won the primary against barak Obama and went on to win the presidency, would she become America's first "woman" president, or the first "female" president?
Scenario 2: If the National Organisation for Women (N.O.W.) elected Rush Limbaugh as it's president (OMG! civilization would not be the same again!!) would he be considered the organisation's first "man" president, or the first "male" president?
In normal usage, it appears that the media use the term "woman" which is a noun interchangebly with "female" which is an adjective. In the second scenario however, I very rarely ever heard the term "man" used as an adjective.
I guess my question is, is it good grammer to use woman as an adjective (scenario 1)? and if so, why not use "man" accordingly?
Thoughts anyone?
This is my very first post on this board, which I did not know exist until about an hour ago. From what I've read thus far, this seems like a great forum to be a part of. Oops, I just broke the rule of ending a sentance with a preposition. Sorry.
Anyway, one of my many beef(s) is with the media's (written and spoken) use of the words "female" versus "woman". When is it appropriate (if ever)to use woman instead of female. And more importantly, can you use "man" instead of "male".
Scenario 1: If Hilary Clinton had won the primary against barak Obama and went on to win the presidency, would she become America's first "woman" president, or the first "female" president?
Scenario 2: If the National Organisation for Women (N.O.W.) elected Rush Limbaugh as it's president (OMG! civilization would not be the same again!!) would he be considered the organisation's first "man" president, or the first "male" president?
In normal usage, it appears that the media use the term "woman" which is a noun interchangebly with "female" which is an adjective. In the second scenario however, I very rarely ever heard the term "man" used as an adjective.
I guess my question is, is it good grammer to use woman as an adjective (scenario 1)? and if so, why not use "man" accordingly?
Thoughts anyone?