"The essence of the typical slippery slope is this: it establishes a firm “handshake” between the generic and the masculine, in such a way that the feminine term is left out in the cold. The masculine inherits the abstract power of the generic, and the generic inherits the power that comes with specific imagery. Here is an example of the generic-benefits from-speck effect: “Man forging his destiny”. Who can resist thinking of some kind of huge mythical brute of a guy hacking his way forward in a jungle or otherwise making progress? Does the image of a woman even come close to getting evoked? I seriously doubt it. And now for the converse, consider these gems: “Kennedy was a man for all seasons.” “Feynman is the world’s smartest man.” “Only a man with powerful esthetic intuition could have created the general theory of relativity.” “Few men have done more for science than Stephen Hawking.” “Leopold and Loeb wanted to test the idea that a perfect crime might be committed by men of sufficient intelligence.” Why “man” and “men”, here? The answer is: to take advantage of the specific-benefits-from -generic effect. The power of the word “man” emanates largely from its close connection with the mythical “ideal man”: Man the Thinker, Man the Mover, Man whose Best Friend is Dog."
— Douglas Hofstadter, “Changes in Default Words and Images, Engendered by Rising Consciousness” (via jsomers)
