Letter Carrier

Posted by Twelvebit (Victoria, United States) on 22 September 2007 in People & Portraits.

I'm not sure I like this new de-gendered terminology as much as the old terms --mailman, or postman. For one thing, Mr. Letter Carrier just doesn't work in a song like Mr. Mailman or Mr. Postman. Granted, Mrs. Postwoman doesn't work so well, but then, neither does Mrs. Letter Carrier. Still, why not Postman/Postwoman and Mailman/Mailwoman? I guess the answer to that question is that it discriminates between two people doing the same job, based on their sex --so the de-gendered term is better.

On the other hand there is something appealing about the word "letter," but the term letter carrier is inaccurate, because, as you can see in the photo, there are more than "letters" being delivered. Mail carrier would be more accurate, but to me, it seems a little inelegant; and of course, in the spoken word there is no distinction between mail and male. I checked the USPS website and letter carrier is indeed the term they use.

By the way, this was taken in downtown Houston.

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Comments (4)

Amir from ?, United States

Cool shot of a hard working people. With the rise of electronic communications their job will fade away in 50 years or so. And about name, it's like that in many profession, a kind of sexist approach to everything.

English is an Endo-European language that have such great use of words that refer to male have society to this extend. I can speak few Endo-European languages and none use it to this extend.

Cheers.

22 Sep 2007 10:21am

@Amir: That's an interesting comment on the English language. Unfortunately, I don't speak enough of any other language to have formed such a perspective myself.

MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom

We have this situation here, with so called "politically correct" terms, I'm not working at the moment, so I'm a housewife or to put it correctly a "domestic engineer" or "homemangager" Lol :D but it doesn't just happen with gender related job titles.
Motivationally deficient, instead of Lazy!
Non traditional shopper is, a Looter!
and my favourite.......Terminally inconvenienced, instead of Dead! :D

22 Sep 2007 12:48pm

@MaryB: This might be a chicken and egg issue. I'm not sure how much of this we've imported from you and how much you've imported from us. Certainly, these trends must have at least been forming when Orwell was writing about the English language. And I don't watch television so I can't speak with any authority on cultural cross breeding on the telly, but I do know that any number of TV shows originating in the UK are copied here.

Shar from Regina, SK, Canada

Ah, yes the fine old English language! But we seem to have forgotten the mail - mostly junk mail and bills...seldom a real hand written letter from anyone any more...damn the computer world...oh, yeah wouldn't send this message around the world and back again if it were not for the computer! LOL

22 Sep 2007 12:58pm

@Shar: A card on occasion, and perhaps a batch at Christmas. Otherwise all we get in the mail are advertisements, bills, and whatever I've ordered over the internet that doesn't come by private carrier.