http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-neutral_languageVarious forms of gender-neutral language became a common feature in written and spoken versions of many languages in the late twentieth century. Feminists argue that previously the practice of assigning masculine gender to generic antecedents stemmed from language reflecting "the prejudices of the society in which it evolved, and English evolved through most of its history in a male-centered, patriarchal society.
Here, we've always had problems of interpretations: when I exclaim the terms "Manly" or "Be a man", often people understand that I'm talking about Masculinity (by gender), undermining the female gender, or even encouraging people to be gay (seriously; one person did say that last one), even though I actually mean Masculinity (by
human trait in both genders) and "
Human". While the person saying it may have good intentions, the one listening will react due to the term's patriarchal origins.
In that case, I think the Old English terms of
Wer-Man and
Wyf-Man were better at describing genders, determining their egalitarian origins, especially since "Man" never really was a gender, but originally stood for "Human".
I say, as writers, we go the similar route! Change the language, and we change the world*. Should there be alternative spellings to "Man" and "Women" (Women)? If nothing else, I'm switching to (and updating) Esperanto (as if it were that easy...)
*I remember Karen once shared a book with me about these fellows destroying the English language. I forget the name...
