I meant that the argument "these words have meant the same thing for a long time" doesn't mean that the word is therefore okay to use. Similarly the etymology of the word doesn't mean it's okay either - 'nigger' comes from 'negro' which just means 'black', for example, but there's a hell of a lot of social baggage that goes with it.
No need to apologise, by the way, I didn't feel like words were put in my mouth by what you said. I just didn't see the arguments you put forward as meaning it's okay to use certain language - the same arguments work for slurs.
the second of which I don't recognize
It's a racial slur against Spanish folks in British English. Doesn't have the same impact as the other word, but it's still a slur.
Also, are you saying that the use of the word 'mann' at that time was sexist?
I am saying that at the time, women were second-class citizens and largely considered to be in the social background. There aren't a lot of women in the history books, for example. Saying that 'mann' meant all humans in an era when women weren't considered as equals doesn't give the word a lot of credit as a gender-neutral word.
It's a bit like how for a long time 'the UK' and 'England' were interchangeable. The UK had a couple of other countries in it that weren't England, but people frequently referred to the group of them as 'England'.
though, due to ignorance, _successfully_ avoiding all use of exclusionary language might be difficult
Difficult sure, but at the same time, still something to strive for. 'man' and 'mankind' are, at this point, purely rhetorical devices, both of which have plenty of alternatives.
>the argument "these words have meant the same thing for a long time" doesn't mean that the word is therefore okay to use
Nobody said that. The etymology was only brought up to show that 'man' being gender neutral is not a neologism that can be easily argued against.
I don't know why you brought up slurs at all. Using a term that focuses on a gender or race does not imply insulting anyone.
If you enunciate clearly you can probably use "negro" without upsetting anyone, and only getting odd looks for such an out-of-fashion term. Mentioning race is not where the social baggage is.
I don't know why you brought up slurs at all. Using a term that focuses on a gender or race does not imply insulting anyone.
Both sexist terms and racial slurs are exclusionary language, which is the point I was getting at. I never said that people were being insulted by man/mankind.
No need to apologise, by the way, I didn't feel like words were put in my mouth by what you said. I just didn't see the arguments you put forward as meaning it's okay to use certain language - the same arguments work for slurs.
the second of which I don't recognize
It's a racial slur against Spanish folks in British English. Doesn't have the same impact as the other word, but it's still a slur.
Also, are you saying that the use of the word 'mann' at that time was sexist?
I am saying that at the time, women were second-class citizens and largely considered to be in the social background. There aren't a lot of women in the history books, for example. Saying that 'mann' meant all humans in an era when women weren't considered as equals doesn't give the word a lot of credit as a gender-neutral word.
It's a bit like how for a long time 'the UK' and 'England' were interchangeable. The UK had a couple of other countries in it that weren't England, but people frequently referred to the group of them as 'England'.
though, due to ignorance, _successfully_ avoiding all use of exclusionary language might be difficult
Difficult sure, but at the same time, still something to strive for. 'man' and 'mankind' are, at this point, purely rhetorical devices, both of which have plenty of alternatives.