[Callers] That g word

Thu Jan 21 17:33:33 PST 2016

I expect at the time you made the change from "ladies" to "women," very few men would have considered dancing with another man, and those who did would have faced confusion at best, and hostility from some--I speak from my own experience. As that has changed, so has the language. Sorry if you think that's something to sigh about.

Read Weaver
Jamaica Plain, MA
http://lcfd.org

> On Jan 21, 2016, at 2:19 AM, Martha Wild via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> 
> Actually, one of the reasons I started using men and women instead of ladies and gents for the different roles years ago is because I’m from the hippie generation - and we fought so hard not to be considered “ladies” any more. “”Lady' is a four letter word” was the expression at the time. I did have women on the floor come up to me and complain about my using the term when I first started calling, and I myself was uncomfortable with the nomenclature. So at that point I switched to calling the roles “men” and “women”. So it came as a surprise to me that now some people object to that as well. Sigh. 
> Martha
> 
>> On Jan 20, 2016, at 5:40 PM, Lindsay Morris via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers at lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
>> 
>> As somebody said: this is political correctness run amuck.
>> 
>> <irony>
>> I myself am deeply offended by the term "gentleman".  I find it controlling and violent in its supposition that I must behave in certain ways.  
>> I hereby request - no, demand! - that all callers remove it from their vocabulary immediately.
>> </irony>
>> 
>> --------------------
>> Lindsay Morris
>> CEO, TSMworks
>> Tel. 1-859-539-9900
>> lindsay at tsmworks.com <mailto:lindsay at tsmworks.com>
>> On Wed, Jan 20, 2016 at 8:21 PM, Harris Lapiroff via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers at lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
>> Do you all know that we literally received a letter from the woman in question on this very mailing list a few months back requesting that we not use this word? It's in an email from Martha Wild on 11/3/15 with the subject line "[Callers] Fwd: Use of the word "gypsy" in various folk dances - Response from Voice of Roma", but I'll paste it back in here to remind you:
>> 
>> From: Carol Silverman <csilverm at uoregon.edu <mailto:csilverm at uoregon.edu>>
>> Subject: Re: Use of the word "gypsy" in various folk dances
>> Date: November 3, 2015 7:28:00 PM PST
>> To: Martha Wild <mawild at sbcglobal.net <mailto:mawild at sbcglobal.net>>, Voice of Roma <voiceofroma at gmail.com <mailto:voiceofroma at gmail.com>>
>> Cc: Petra Gelbart <petragelbart at gmail.com <mailto:petragelbart at gmail.com>>
>> 
>> Dear Martha,
>> Sani Rifati, President of Voice of Roma forwarded you message to me. Although I am not Romani, I am on the Board of VOR and we do care deeply about the terms used for the people we represent.
>> A large number of Roma (but not all)  are offended by the term Gypsy, especially with a small g. To “gyp" someone means to steal and swindle; plus the word connotes a false history— it a short for Egyptian whereas Roma are from India. Roma have faced centuries of discrimination, and today are subject to deportations and racial profiling;  this would be an opportunity to teach your community a little about their history.
>> 
>> So whatever the history of the dance step, I know that names can be changed by sensitive callers like you. I would urge you to change the names and seize and educational moment!
>> Sincerely, Carol Silverman
>> PS Check the VOR webs page fro my information: http://www.voiceofroma.com/culture/gyp_vs_rom.html <http://www.voiceofroma.com/culture/gyp_vs_rom.html>
>> 
>> I assume she uses it on her website and in her writings either because her views have evolved since writing them or because she is referring to categories that others have ascribed to music, arts, and people, not because she endorses its usage (since, obviously, she does not).
>> 
>> I don't understand why this is still an issue up for debate when we've received such definitive information, nor do I understand why some of you care so much about defending a term that you have been told is offensive.
>> 
>> On Wed, Jan 20, 2016 at 8:08 PM, Michael Fuerst via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers at lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
>> Here is the web page about the speaker, Carol Silverman
>> http://anthropology.uoregon.edu/profile/csilverm/ <http://anthropology.uoregon.edu/profile/csilverm/>
>> Note how freely "gypsy" appears throughout Professor Silverman's page.    The word is obvious not at all  heinous.
>> One doubts the talk will deal with quixotic squawking about the evil of the word "gypsy"  on this and other contra dance forums 
>>  
>> Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801      217 239 5844 <tel:217%20239%205844>
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Wednesday, January 20, 2016 5:19 PM, Linda Leslie via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers at lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Yes, it does! If you should be there, please take some notes and share with this list. Thanks for telling us about it!
>> Linda
>> 
>> On Jan 20, 2016, at 5:12 PM, Roger Hayes via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers at lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
>> 
>>> A talk that will be given as part of the Madison Folk Ball next weekend:
>>> 
>>> "Global Gypsy: Balkan Romani Music, Appropriation & Representation"
>>> Carol Silverman, Prof. of Cultural Anthropology & Folklore, Univ. of Oregon
>>> Friday Jan 29, Noon - 1:00pm in Room 1335 of Sterling Hall
>>> 475 N. Charter Street, Madison WI 53706
>>> 
>>> Sounds interesting, yes?
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Callers mailing list
>>> Callers at lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers at lists.sharedweight.net>
>>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net <http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net>
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers at lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers at lists.sharedweight.net>
>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net <http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net>
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers at lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers at lists.sharedweight.net>
>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net <http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net>
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers at lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers at lists.sharedweight.net>
>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net <http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net>
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers at lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers at lists.sharedweight.net>
>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers at lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers-sharedweight.net/attachments/20160121/7023a1ee/attachment.htm>