adecentfellow:

It’s how the English language works.

Get over it.

It’s not an act of misogyny.

If you think that’s bad, try French on for size. A group of 2 or more females is called “elles”, but as soon as you add a single man to that group, it becomes “ils” (the male plural). You could have a hundred billion women and a single man, and you still have to call that group “ils”.

It doesn’t make it ethical, or correct to say that simply because one language is obviously built on a patriarchal society that the other language is exempt and shouldn’t be changed or complained about. In truth, feminists (at least, the thorough, academic, think-before-you-speak-and-demand-equality type of feminist) want to change the way society, language, culture is constructed so that it does not promote misogyny, in subtle or evident ways, and language is one of those subtle ways. Everything from the vocabulary (You don’t have the balls to do that? You pussy!) to the grammar (Ils sont tres belle, sauf le garcon). 

“It’s just the way it is.” Ah, that’s what my dad said when I told him I wanted to change the world, and he told me I couldn’t, it’s just the way the world is, great argument. Just because something /is/, does not make it right, even something as seemingly natural as language- language, like all markers of a civilization are constructed by people, and people often based these markers of civilization on a purely patriarchal point of view. For instance, before the 20th century, women were not allowed to vote in many countries including the United States, that’s “just the way it was”, was that okay? Was that ethical and coherent to a stable, equal, non-subtly misogynist society?

You have to understand that it’s not necessarily “bitching” so much as observing and critiquing, which is very much what philosophy does and sciences as well, you can understand where they are coming from yourself, I imagine, being a philosophy student. 

Anyhow, read, digest, think, read more, hope you understand.