It's delightful to see so many people reporting on their personal experiences on this thread. So much ingenuity applied to adapting beloved material to changing contexts -- what a wide and engaging range of questions, stories, and perspectives ! With four decades of dance experience, (e.g., I'm among the callers who switched from "ladies" to "women" back in the 1980s) I have *lots* of stories about the evolution of tradition ... but don't intend to inflict them on this group. There are other voices that don't get as much air time .... <brief plug> To that end, I strongly encourage you look at a diverse (and often touching) collection of brief stories at https://genderanddance.org/ In sharing personal stories about gender, people talk about much more than language. They talk about their experience of community, their personal identity, their moments of distress, their hopes, their fears ... It's rich stuff. So far, there are relatively few stories from the viewpoint of callers -- it would enrich the conversation if more of us told of *our* experiences. (And/or, please nudge a few individuals to visit who could benefit from a broader perspective, or who have compelling tales to share.) </brief plug> Thanks for taking a look, and sharing the link. As we learn about others' personal histories and perspectives, our collective understanding expands, and our diverse community grows stronger. Happy Dancing ! Scott scott(a)scotthiggs.com