Ebbie, have you not heard many, many women, including many women on this forum say "You go, girl!" to another woman as an encouragement? Is it intended to demean? They don't say, "You go, woman!" because it simply doesn't roll off the tongue as well.

You know me reasonably well by now, and I hope to God (or whatever.) that you realize I am not sexist. Fer Chrissake, I think women are on average more mature and responsible THAN most of their male counterparts. I have always thought so. I never went through that little boy thing where I thought girls were "icky" or had "cooties". I always respected them fully, and I admired them in a general sense more than I did males (not talking about sexual attraction type of admiration). The term "girl" is constantly used toward adult women in this society BY adult women as well as by men. More often by adult women, in fact (I guess they're not afraid of being taken the wrong way). The term "boy" is seldom used toward men by either gender, but sometimes it is in certain situations, and without offence. That depends on the situation, the tone of voice, the intent, etc.

This is just another example of the Internet setting people at each other's throats because it is such a lousy, indirect method of communication. It's one-sided isolation. That doesn't work well.

And why am I wasting my time hoping that my feeble efforts here can turn back the tide... (sigh)

Because it's an addiction, that's why. I need to either take a 12-step course to end my computer addiction or move somewhere where there is simply no Internet. Like the moon...