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Old 02-03-18, 03:01 PM   #13
Aktungbby
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aanker
I'm a little surprised that the Grand Tetons in Wyoming haven't had their names changed.... ha!
My daughter once stated that she hated the word 'tits' which is, of course, insulting to proper ladies. And I said "that's cool but you've got an entire Mtn range and federal park to get past on that issue."The naming of the mountains is attributed to early 19th-century French-speaking trappers—les trois tétons (the three teats) was later anglicized and shortened to Tetons A lady classmate of mine actually works for the U.S. Geologic Survey and I mentioned that the problem was a little glaring and not PC-in need of a name change . So far no corrective action. The problem is widespread:
Quote:
A less humorous aspect of mammary toponymy is the denigration of Native American women by feature names like Squaw Tit, in its singular or plural form. Derogatory intent seems a bit obvious insofar as squaw is far more commonly paired with the mildly obscene tit than with the more numerous and clinically correct nipple. My canvass of GNIS found only two of the latter: Squaw Nipple (in Montana) and Squaw Nipple Peak (a variant for Squaw Dome, in California). By contrast, squaw is part of 19 of the country’s 28 tit-based names (fig. 4.1), and accounts for roughly equal portions of the 19 official names and 9 variants. What’s more, unlike the nipple appellations that affectionately commemorate white women named Elsie or Molly, none of the tit toponyms mentions anyone, white or Indian, by name. And of the six features with squaw variants, four still have squaw in their official name. Apparently tit was more offensive than squaw to whoever sanitized the official names of Arizona’s Squaw Butte (formerly Squaw Tit), Nevada’s Squaw Mountain and Squawtip (both formerly Squaw Tit), and Texas’s Squawteat Peak (formerly Squawtit Peak). By contrast, geometry edged out racism when features formerly known as Squaw Tit became Thimble Mountain in California and Pushtay (a Sahaptin Indian word for “small mound”) in Washington State. These subtle substitutes suggest a solution for state officials troubled by toponyms pointedly offensive to feminists and Native Americans
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/534650.html
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