"authoress"
- Thread starter Danae
- Start date
Hockey13
Senior Member
AmEnglish/German
Hello, I've heard that using the term "authoress" instead of "author" brings a different connotation, besides indicating the gender distinction. Do you find this true? If so, could you tell me which connotation in particular?
Thanks!
I think the only connotation it might convey to the listener is the perceived attitude of the speaker. Authoress is so out of use that I've literally never heard it before, and I read quite a lot. For me, author is the only term that should be used, or has ever been used in any literature class I've ever been in.
mgarizona
Senior Member
US - American English
It is considered sexist, implying that there is something fundamentally different in authoring performed by females. This is persumed to be a bad thing, though I'm not quite sure why.
It is very antiquated and is improper nowadays.
However, I would like to see the context in which it was being used before saying that using it was wrong or carried any connotations.
Whilst I never heard of Jane Austen, say, being referred to as anything other than "a writer", I could well imagine that there might be a quotation from her time to her as an authoress - she might conceivably have referred to herself that way. Used in this type of context, even outside of a direct quotation, the word might be correctly used.
However, I would like to see the context in which it was being used before saying that using it was wrong or carried any connotations.
Whilst I never heard of Jane Austen, say, being referred to as anything other than "a writer", I could well imagine that there might be a quotation from her time to her as an authoress - she might conceivably have referred to herself that way. Used in this type of context, even outside of a direct quotation, the word might be correctly used.
I agree with arizona, it implies that there is a difference between male writers - authors - and female writers - authoresses. There's a movement in English to reduce all forms like t his to the neutral variety, which also happens to be the "old" male variety. So now we have actor, sorcerer, author. The only example I can think of going to the female side is that of "nurse," which lost its "male nurse" distinction for men.