[Angela28734]

Is it politically incorrect to use the word 'man' to stand for human kind?

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Name : Angela28734, Gender : F, City : Lumberton, State : NC Country : United States, 

[Teresa28766]

Unfortunately we live in a time when people (including politicians, professors and the like) are exchanging 'man' or 'mankind' for 'people' and 'human kind,' even when they read historic quotations or poetry. This goes along with replacing pronouns like 'his' and 'him' with 'his or her' and 'him or her.' To me all of this sounds really awkward, but we have to get used to it! People should be able to understand to what 'mankind' really refers. Still there are many out there who think replacing the 'man' part is going to make a difference in society. Bon chance (yeah right). In short, if you want to be PC, then use 'human kind.'

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Name : Teresa28766, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 21, City : Gurnee, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Ann L. Lowenstein]

It's grammatically correct but highly un-PC. Go for it. There's nothing more entertaining than watching a PC-Stasi's head explode.

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Name : Ann L. Lowenstein, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Animist, Age : 37, City : K.C., State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : Administrative Assistant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dwanny]

I don't know about it being PC but I resent it. This stems from when society became patriarchal, and men thought they were superior to women. I also object to referring to women as girls.

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Name : Dwanny, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 53, City : Springtown, State : TX Country : United States, 

[JasonS]

Politically incorrect... my impression is that yes, it is. Whether that *in and of itself* constitutes a reason never to do it is another matter, I think. The word "mankind" does have a sort of historical resonance to it, despite being gender-based. Arguably, its actual usage has generally been far less sexist than its etymology, and depending on the context it might fit better. If referencing a document written in that style, or writing dialogue for a character meant to sound like a classicist, it might well be the way to go. Just be aware that using the word will give your text a certain tone, over and above the issue of whether someone in your audience may actually take some degree of offence. If you want to avoid that tone, incidentally, you're probably better off using 'huma

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Name : JasonS, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Bloomington, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[DaneR]

I would like to ask how many people really think that it refers to a patriarchal society when they hear mankind, or do most people think it just means all people? Not trying to bash anything here but how many people do you know that think that way everyday? I don't know many that would take it that way in passing conversation, in a conversation like this, yes, it's understanable to see it that way and it may go back to that time but most people don't think about it on that level. And if most people don't think about it like that then why does it matter?

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Name : DaneR, Age : 19, City : Jacksonville, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Marianne]

It isn't about being "politically correct". (I hate that term). It's about being polite, inclusive and linguistically correct. I don't think in this day and age that it should be all that difficult to refer to "humanity" instead of "mankind". How about "Staff" instead of "Man"? ('They needed someone to staff the booth'). That was easy, wasn't it?

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Name : Marianne, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 54, City : Portland, State : OR Country : United States, Occupation : Stage Manager, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[BruceStephens]

Angela, I believe 'human race' is more suitable than 'man kind.' Then 'man' can be used, "since the dawn of man."

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Name : BruceStephens, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 49, City : Newark, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Student/Surveyor, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower class, 

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