This is my first week here and am glad I have found a place to comfortably share thoughts and questions. When doing research in the Society's publications, I often come across the term "male member."
I often get confused with the term and would like to know how others here understand the term.
As I see it, there are at least three distinct uses for the term:
1. Male member as the person
2. Male member as the body part
3. Male member in an insulting way
I am often confused when I read things such as "the male members joined hand-in-hand" or "the male members were unable to perform their assigned functions." These phrases could be interpreted different ways.
One thought I had would be for the Society to use the convention that it uses in the NWT for "you." The word is uppercase YOU for plural and lowercase when singular.
The same logic could be applied here. When the body part is being referenced, why not make it uppercase. When the entire person is being spoken of, make it lower case.
Another idea would be to use the "((" and "))" characters to make the information clearer. Maybe something like this:
When the entire person is being referred to, leave it the way it is now. Example: The male members were asked to ...... etc.
When the body part is being referred to, put a "))" or smiley face character. Example: The )) male member rose joyfully when he saw her .... etc.
Finally, when used in a pejorative way to reprove, use a "((" or sad character. Example: You (( male members have not heeded the council .... or .... You stupid (( male member! .... or .... You're acting like a (( male member.
I think the Society should make issues like this clearer. It will certainly aid us when we read the publications.
Any other ideas ???