Spinsters
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me:
i just learned that during the renaissance, menstruation was called a woman's "time of flowers"
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Sara:
thats interesting. and surprising
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me:
which came to me after reading your stunning post on the subject
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stunning being a synonym for fantastic
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Sara:
oh why thank you
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i really appreciate that ms.
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me:
i love "ms."
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the term and the magazine
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i was teaching salutations to my students
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Sara:
thats what i thought of when i used it! so in tune
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me:
and i told them to use ms. because it doesn't matter if a woman is married when you address her
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Sara:
did they get it
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me:
after a little discussion
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i asked why they felt it necessary to know women's marital status, but not men's
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Sara:
did they have a reason?
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me:
not any good ones
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apparently there are 2 ways to refer to women in chinese and they are either married or unmarried
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Sara:
ahaa
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me:
and to refer to an older woman as unmarried is a huge insult
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so i asked what if an older woman is in fact unmarried
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Sara:
ah the spinster!
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me:
and they basically said that any older woman that's not a buddhist nun or some kind of homeless person will be married
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Sara:
hahaha!
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me:
cat lady!
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Sara:
nun or homeless
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thats kind of priceless
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me:
yeah! there are no other options
Notes
