Why stop there? Why even bother having separate awards for males and females? Isn’t that as sexist as any term used to refer to women actors?
Is that really supposed to be the inference? So if someone asks who your favorite actress is and you say Meryl Streep you’re missing the point of the question…?
I’ve never in my life had a hint of that, and (no offense) would guess most people haven’t either. 
I’ve also never heard that distinction before this thread. I figured it was just going out of style for the sake of linguistic streamlining, not any particular attempt at conquering sexism.
What’s wrong with being sexy?
Many people use the word “actress” to refer to even serious female actors in everyday conversation, so making the distinction in such a case would be needlessly pedantic. However, when you’re holding an awards ceremony to celebrate the acting ability of female performers, you should bear in mind that the word “actress” has certain connotations (eye candy, casting couch, etc.) that can easily be avoided by using the term “female actor”.
I agree it’s a word that is going out of style. Like my favourite gender distinction is aviatrix. If I was a man and an aviator, I’d rather be an aviatrix, 'cause that’s a cooler word.
However if I was a queen, Queen Elizabeth, I’d make myself king because everyone knows it’s better to be king than queen. Unless of course you’re playing chess
This is seriously the first time I’ve ever encountered the word “actress” as being a negative thing. I can’t even recall ever hearing an actress referred to as an actor. Personally I think it is an ugly sounding word, though; “actrix” would be better.
So by that standard, are Keanu Reeves and Leonardo diCaprio actresses, too?
Well, whatever the male equivalent of “actress” is ;).
That brings us to the title question of the thread. IMO, it’s not sexist in and of itself to call Jessica Alba an actress rather than an actor, but it’s worth noting that it means “female eye candy/casting couch bimbo” and that there’s no term for “male eye candy/casting couch bimbo”.
Except that - as you yourself said earlier - many people do say actress when they mean a serious female actor.
And no one but you has has ever heard of your alternate meaning.
Can you find some cites of people making that distinction?
By that reasoning, so is John Travolta.
Right. Whether or not “actress” is an appropriate synonym for “serious female actor” pretty much depends on the opinion of whoever’s using the word. I certainly wouldn’t think it was appropriate to get offended by “actress” as a disparaging term if it’s not being used in a disparaging way, but neither is it appropriate to get offended by “female actor” because you think it’s excessively PC.
Dunno where this “fact” comes from: the Latin word “actor” is a grammatically masculine noun. The feminine equivalent in Latin, as Argent Towers notes, is “actrix”.
This thread is the first I’ve heard of it.
We’re all getting far afield here and reading way too much into it. It’s the Screen Actors Guild. The award is called The Actor. It is given by Actors (i.e. members of the union) to Actors to celebrate Actors Acting.
I wonder when she will come back, 'cause I’m getting damned hungry!
So why isn’t it the Screen Actors & Actresses Guild?
An actor is an actor is an actor. There is no need to distinguish if Sallyi Field is an actor or actress. Her name clearly lets you know.
If it’s someone whose name is ambiguous like Chris Doe, then use “female (or male) actor.”
William Safire came up with this idea decades ago, and it makes sense.
OK, so then you’re saying Marion Cotillard, Helen Miren, Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep, Ellen Burstyn, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford (to name a few) are all “female eye candy/casting couch bimbos” and not “serious female actors”? :dubious:
I know some… women in theatre who prefer ‘actor’ and some who don’t care. It’s not sexist in terms of being demeaning to women; it would be equally demeaning to men, wouldn’t it? If it’s sexist, it’s only because it introduces gender into a discussion where it might not be relevant. I am also pretty sure this discussion goes back before the 1970s.
I’m not sure I agree with this. I believe it’s really part of a wider movement to give professional women their due and move away from titles which feel demeaning, not because they’re incorrect in themselves, but because of negative associations with attitudes in the past.
Hence, an Air Steward is a professional flight attendant, skilled in first aid and dedicated customer support, whereas an Air Stewardess is a pretty girl who sashays down the aisle, showing her cleavage as she leans across you to buckle you in.
An actor is a skilled, talented theatrical professional, an actress is a pretty girl who’s there as a romantic foil to the lead man. She’s also probably of dubious morals and has been known to sell her skills on the casting couch, along with her bare breasts in tabloid newspapers.
I exaggerate, but you get the idea.
I completely diasagree that there’s anything demeaning about “actress,” or that it denotes anything more than gender. It’s also not exactly the same thing as removing the gender distinction from most other professions, because in acting, the specific gender actually matters. Actors play male roles, and actresses play female roles. They are different specializations. “Actress” designates an acting specialization, not a difference in seriousness or importance or ability, and that specialization cannot include male actors.
I think the trend towards actresses complaining about the word and insisting on being called “actors” is a pretentious, obnoxious affect, but then, these ARE actresses we’re talking about.
Of course there are also roles that are not necessarily gender specific. So it’s more about who is playing the roles than what roles they are playing.