Legal Commentary

?Big Bang?

By Eugene Volokh

People asked about the ?Big Bang? example, so here?s the source. It?s of course only an extreme case, used only to amusingly show how far some people are willing to go ? I don?t want to claim that it?s at all a common demand (unlike the demands to rename ?handicapped,? ?American Indian,? and the like):

An astronomy magazine is sponsoring a contest to rename the ?Big Bang? theory of how the universe began. Those pushing the name change say the current name is misleading and perhaps sexist. [Note that only some of the objectors are making the ?sexist? claim; others say that the metaphor leads to inaccurate ways of thinking about the event. ?EV] ...

HEAPS: Since the 1950s, the term Big Bang has also taken on a sexual connotation, and some say changing it could make the mostly male world of astronomy a little more friendly for females.

MEG URRY, Space Telescope Science Institute: A lot of the style is very macho, and that can be offputting to young women, and ?big bang? is just another? another little grain of sand in that big sandbox.

UPDATE: Whoops, forgot to include the citation: It?s from CNN, June 14, 1993, transcript #417?5; I personally checked it on Lexis.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on March 30, 2010 (boomark / email).