Men & Women, Ladies & Gentlemen

The_Healys

Message 6486 · 31 Jan 1997 12:19:59 · Fixed-width font · Whole thread

Brenda Claridge writes:

> I suspect it's harking back to the British class thing where
> a "woman" belongs to the lower classes. The same thing just
> doesn't seem to apply to men. Perhaps we need to wait a few more
> years yet before we're all happy with "woman".

The other day I was having another look at the Register of
Dances at Castle Menzies of 1749. That uses Men and Women
throughout. While it is arguably a seditious document for the
inclusion of dances such as O'er the Watter to Charly and You'r
Wellcome Charly Stuart only three years after Culloden, I don't
think it was written to upset the Lady of the House as well! :^)

(Harking back to another thread, it uses Pair instead of Couple)

Jim Healy
Perth, Scotland