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Aug 26, 2019 at 18:33 comment added davea0511 Metonymy only applies when the new subset is perceived as being significantly different. Otherwise they would all simply be called "students", no need to label them differently.
Apr 3, 2014 at 12:50 comment added Mitch @MarcelTuring: the law of logic is called the law of implication through definition. A 'co-educational' school means teaching both sexes in the same classes. Note that no sex is preferred in that terminology. So how come logically and literally is co-ed to be preferred for females over males? I gave an extra-logical explanation. So, to you, what is a logical explanation for preferring one sex over the other?
Oct 20, 2012 at 5:32 comment added coleopterist Surely I'm not the first person to ask this question. There must be feminists galore who have looked into this. I don't think that the story is that obvious that the answer is plain as day. Usually such theories have their origins in some written work. A more reliable source than according-to-this-chap-on-the-net will be nice :)
Oct 19, 2012 at 23:57 comment added Mitch @coleopterist: OK, but then what would be a convincing answer to a 'why' question? Are you looking for the explicit explanation by the person who very first used it in speech? Sometimes that is available but not often. If you can't come up with good criteria or there is no way to fulfill the criteria, then this might not be a constructive question. As to derogatory, 'coed' is unlikely to be such, rather it sounds more like a euphemism to replace harsher words that a boys club might use (I have no evidence, but I'm just trying to pursue the conjectural possibility that you suggest).
Oct 19, 2012 at 21:46 comment added coleopterist Again, this appears to be conjecture. While it seems logical, I'm unsure what everybody is basing this theory on. Having read John Lawler's and @Merk 's comments, I can extrapolate even further: Women in the 1800s used to attend women's colleges. However, once men's colleges became coed, some women, rather than attending pristine and pure women's colleges, chose to lower themselves by attending coed institutions thereby being branded coeds. Thus, coeds was initially a derogatory term rather than a sexist one. | To me, this theory is just as, if not more convincing than the others.
Oct 19, 2012 at 21:29 history answered Mitch CC BY-SA 3.0