A Futile Pursuit

A Futile Pursuit

1990 11 November 13 A Futile Pursuit (345) When the champions of feminism in the western world began advocating that men and women should be treated as equals, because there was no difference between them – they were the same in all respects – they even objected to the use of the word ‘Mrs.’ To them it was an insult to a woman to have to attach her husband’s name to her own and then call herself ‘Mrs.’ because this suggested that a woman had no separate identity. They said that just as there was the permanent title to ‘Mr.,’ for a man, there should also be a permanent title for a woman. For this purpose, they coined the word ‘Ms.’ which has come into general use, although not all women approve of it.

The advantage of feminism, however, were not satisfied with a mere change of title. They began saying that all the words which devoted feminine and masculine gender should be eliminated from the dictionary. This movement had such an influence on the American government that in 1979, the departments of Health, Education and Social Welfare issued instructions that any such words as expressed a difference in sex were not to be used. Any papers or forms which used special words to differentiate between the sexes were no longer acceptable to these departments. Here are some of those forbidden words: he, she, mother, father chairman, housewife, policeman, mankind. Even the ubiquitous milkman was not spared. In line with the new thinking on the subject, he was thence forward to be known as the ‘dairy products deliverer’. And so on.

The Times of India of November 1, 1979 comments: “Rather than abolish gender, why don’t they get busy with the abolition of hunger, unemployment and insecurity?”

No one engages himself in whatever work most urgently needs to be done. No one attends to the need of the hour. People prefer to occupy themselves with all manner of trivialities. This is why, in spite of the great number of activities being carried on in the name of reformation, no real reform is anywhere in sight.