• jackpot@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    9 months ago

    i think they mean ‘man’ as in ‘mankind’. also any ideas why would they carve it into bone and not bark or something more flat?

    • Rowan@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      9 months ago

      Likely durability and portability. Think of it as something they use month over month and just mark the day with something like a string band. Bone would be light enough to keep with you, strong enough to not break, and common enough to be available for household use.

      • jackpot@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        9 months ago

        no i mean, by the people ‘who consider it’. i think the speaksr didnt understand that theyre saying it’s mankind others are talkint abkut

        • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          9 months ago

          Oh but the word mankind in itself overlooks women. We’re all supposed to be saying humankind now.

          • jackpot@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            9 months ago

            etymologically speaking im not even sure if thats right. i heard somethibg like this and they either said woman doesnt derive from man or that man used to mean woman and man but woman became its own thing, cant recall

            • John_McMurray@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              9 months ago

              “man” in the contexts not directly related to being a male, means human. “Man” used to have a prefix vaguely pronounced “were” and “woman” used to be “wifman”. Female werewolf would be a “wifwolf” then. So anyways, “Man” never changed it’s meaning, it really just gained an additional one, and yet again, whiners need to read a book.

    • survivalmachine@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      9 months ago

      Sure, you can say “man” means “mankind”, but when you use gendered language like that, most people picture a couple of caveMEN sitting around a fire carving bones rather than caveWOMEN. Even though we try to use gendered language in a neutral way, listeners will often perceive the language in a gendered way.

    • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      9 months ago

      Likely durability. A bone and a stick can both be thrown into a bag and carried with you, but a bone is much more durable than a stick. It’ll be less likely to break or wear down as it rubs against everything else in your bag.