*LC Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 My 19-year_old DD is applying for an internship that requires essays. In one of the essays it asks about groups that are under representeed in stem and what the student thinks can be done. Should she use girl or woman to refer to herself or other females. She does use female once, but she doesn't like how it sounds more than that. Typically, she refers to herself as a girl, but she doesn't know how that "sounds" in a professional essay. I thought posting here would give lots of opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Young woman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 I agree that "young woman" would be more appropriate when referring to her present self. "Girl" would be ok if she was talking about her past (or about actual children who are not herself), but potentially sends the message that she doesn't see herself as an adult (which she probably doesn't, but it probably isn't the message she wants to send). It could also ruffle feathers amongst professional women who don't appreciate being referred to as girls (which does happen). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 If she is writing about female students in K-12 education, she should use "girls". If she is writing about female students at undergraduate level or above, she should use "women". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 She should definitely use woman/women, or maybe ladies. Not girls. She is an adult woman and girl is inappropriate. A 19yr old male would not refer to himself as a boy in a professional essay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeritasMama Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Woman, she is no longer a girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Yes, woman/women or young woman. This is a trend I strive to promote - call upper teen and older females "women," never "girls." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 That's actually kind of a weird cusp where there's no right answer. It may depend on the people reading the essay. Will they see woman as being pretentious (if it's being written by a high schooler, say?). Or girl as childish? In the prompt for the essay, or in other materials the organization puts out, do they refer to females in a particular way? I'd follow their lead, if there is one. Otherwise, I can understand your daughter finding it a bit uncomfortable to call herself a woman when she's only just got there (boys/young men have the same issues). Maybe she can work around it a little with phrases like: "the young woman I am about to become", or "the girl I have always been" or something like that. If done right, it might also add a bit more interest to the essay. I don't think I'd use "ladies" except in a historical or humorous context. "Young lady" implies charm school, not engineering school. I'm not sure how a boy/man would refer to himself in this context. Because I can't imagine a male at this stage writing an essay about himself with the specific purpose of pointing out how his maleness affects things. If he were writing about his future in a STEM field he'd probably use the terms engineer or student or professor -- gender neutral terms (although they aren't as gender neutral as they seem). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
at the beach Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 I'd use women because the prompt is asking for groups underrepresented in STEM. This implies that the person is an adult in the workforce. I would absolutely not use the term girl or even young woman in this case. I would state that women are underrepresented in STEM fields. When referring how to address this underrepresentation, she can then use terms like girls to refer to females under age 13 and through 8th grade and young women to refer to high schoolers and what can be done with those groups to encourage their interest in STEM. That's just my opinion, FWIW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 I would use "women" or "females" if speaking at the college level and beyond. It is subtle, but the use of the term "girl" when the term "boy" would not be used in the same sentence if males were being referred to, is part of the message sent about the appropriateness of women in these roles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 I agree with using girl for female persons under 16 or so and young woman or woman for someone older. Your daughter might also use the word teen if it's appropriate for the age group under discussion. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 I think it's funny how sometimes I'll read a book written long ago where talk they about a "little girl," and it's actually an older teen! I would definitely use "women" or "young women" -- even if they still seem like girls. :) I think nowadays, that's more appropriate. I have a harder time with the generic pronoun. Do I say "he" or "she" or "he/she" or "them" or ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 I agree with what everyone else has said about "girls". I would absolutely not use ladies either. That really carries gender connotations that she probably doesn't want to carry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*LC Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 Thanks. No girls, got it. The problem is making it clear that woman means a classmate and not a teacher. How many times can you say young women/woman without it sounding wordy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 "women studying chemistry" "female students" "undergraduate women" "female physics students" "women taking mathematics courses" "a fellow student raised her hand . . ." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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