I didn’t say that was the phrase that was used. I put teen in quotes to show it was the word that was used to describe a 19-year-old person in one context versus the word man in another context. My point was not to say that the usage I described was part of anyone’s style book. But it does happen.
Examples:
“BRIEF: 3 teens hurt in Morgan County wreck.” Sedalia Democrat, The (MO). 08/09/2010
The teens in question were 13, 18, and [drumroll] 19.
“Mourners remember teens killed in crash.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO). 08/07/2010
Women have constituted a significant proportion of college students since the 1960s; by the 1980s they attended college at about the same rate as men, and over the last decade they have actually become a slight majority of those pursuing higher education.
I think the time has passed when we need specific term like “coed” to designate a female college student, if we ever needed one.
I must have missed that etymological memo. When and how exactly did “coed” become pejorative and dismissive? It may be getting a bit long in the tooth, but it’s still in regular use by men and women “of a certain age” as a simple descriptor of a girl who is in college. Please nail down how it offends the lexical sensibilities?
I don’t think it’s a huge deal, but it is one of those words that make invidious distinctions where none are necessary. Why do we need a particular word to designate “a girl [sic] who is in college”? Why isn’t “student” sufficient?
If we’re talking about a woman, and the fact that she is in college is relevant, we can call her a student or simply mention the fact that she’s in college. If her status as a student is irrelevant, there’s no need to mention it at all.
And if we’re talking about a student, and she happens to be a woman, that also should become clear in the course of the conversation, without the need for a gender-specific word like “coed.”
Basically, if we don’t need a specific word to describe a man who also happens to attend college, then we don’t need one for women either.
The fact that it seems (at least to me) to be used as part of the title of a work of porn more than it is used for anything else? Google images for “coed” with Safe Search turned off and that’s most of what you’ll see; lots of naked young women. Do the same with “female students” and you’ll see mostly young women in schools.
The word “girl” by itself will also get you huge porn hits, maybe it’s too sexually charged and dismissive as well. Best to go with “young, human female”. You guys are so sensitive you’re beginning to sound like some Onion parody.
To me it’s just the implication that, for whatever reason, it’s critical to point out that this is not just a student but a female student, which I feel in some contexts can act as a diminutive of sorts. It’s as if only males can be true students; women need to be singled out as somehow overcoming some sort of hardship or something. The more I think about it, it’s not so much that I find it offensive, but just…patronizing. I can’t think of any good reason why you can’t say just “student” if it’s the student part that’s relevant, “woman” if the person’s gender is important, or “female student” if you need both.
Granted, it’s certainly not high up on my list of Words Not To Use. I wouldn’t bat an eye if my grandmother used it*, I’d find it mildly odd if someone of my mother’s generation used it, and I’d definitely be somewhat baffled as to why someone in my generation would use it. I have no idea what generation astro belongs to, and I don’t for a second think he intended to offend or anything, but it just seemed somewhat anachronistic. I’d have had the same reaction if someone posted a thread, say, asking about the Hindoo language - it’s not offensive in and of itself, but I’m slightly wary as to why someone would use such an outdated term.
*Though the grandmother who’s still alive once asked me, a couple years ago, if people still use that word. I said no, not often, and she hasn’t used it since.
Well, most young people today probably aren’t used to thinking about the word “coeducational.” Males and females schooled together has been the norm for decades. So singling our someone as a “coed” will fly over their heads, and it’s a little odd even for older folks, who likewise haven’t spent much time thinking about coeducational facilities lately.
Huh. I’m 38 and I’m aware of the word coed…but I didn’t even know it meant only women. I guess the word was already going out of usage when I was young - or it was never really explained to me - so I just inferred that it meant college student in general. When I was about college age, coed dorms were just beginning to take off where I lived, so that’s probably why I didn’t make the connection to just females. I had no idea it had a negative connotation…interesting!
Your quotee wrote “would have” not “could have.” If you assume the other’s “number of 5150’s was reduced” means “number of 5150’s went to zero” you’re going to have a communication problem.
(… It seems odd that the last 2/3 of messages in this thread discuss such matters as whether nineTEEN-year olds are teens, with no post since #13 even related to OP.)
I think that the ACLU is the main reason for all of what Reagan is getting blamed for. They began the campaign that 'even crazy people have rights to be not detained for the way they think" or something like that.
And, correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Reagan governor about, what, 40 years ago, like about 20 years before he died, what, like about 20 years ago?:rolleyes: Unless he had some mystical power of which we are unaware, I think if he did something that the rest of California didn’t like, they had plenty of time to change it.
Best wishes,
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A couple of weeks ago, CNN had the headline: “Missing teen with sex offender” On reading the article, I was informed that the young lady in question was a 19-year-old meth addict who went off to be with her boyfriend.
Agreed. When I hear the term coed, I think sorority girl type - young, attractive, and, well, maybe not there on an academic scholarship. (Giggly is an excellent term for it.)
I see. But still, I don’t think it has anything to do with the author’s sympathy toward the referent. Your example could easily be:
“BRIEF: 3 teens confess to heinous attack on helpless senior in Morgan County .” Bugtussle Gazette, (MO). 08/09/2010."
The teens in question: 13, 18, 19 years of age.
This is done because you can refer to only one (the 19-year-old) as a “man” or “woman.” It’s about economy of expression, and the author’s sympathies are not germane.
“Girl” maybe not, but “teen”, “young”, “female” all definitely result in wall-o-porn.
Still, when I first saw the thread title, I thought “Coed? Some hot girl somewhere probably got raped/framed her boyfriend/fell in love with a kidnapper/died and the media is all over it. Ugh”. There’s definitely a derogatory sexual connotation (least to my 26-yo self). I’d probably get slapped if I called any of my female college friends a coed.
They’re not referring to what he did as governor, but as president with federal funding for mental hospitals. Sure most of those people released died on the streets years ago, but the hospitals are still bare-bones operations. They don’t treat so much as they simply hold the hopeless, long-term cases.
What happened with the ACLU was coincident with, but not causation of, Reagan’s policies. When someone is 5150d they just get taken by the cops to the nearest emergency room capable of holding someone for 72 hours–not to a mental hospital. If the person is really wacko, they may end up in a state prison, but usually they just get released back to the streets, unless family or guardians step in.
