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WMC Unspinning the Spin

Joe/Joe Blow/Joe Schmo/Joe six-pack

joe and "Joe Blow" have long meant an average, typical, or ordinary man, while "schmo" comes from the Yiddish for "jerk" and "Joe six-pack" is a classist stereotype of the football-and-beer guy that we all know is out there somewhere. These are sexist insofar as there are no parallel terms for women, and two of them aren't complimentary. Less casual inclusive synonyms for both sexes are Jane Doe/John Doe, Jane Q. Citizen/John Q. Citizen, and Jane Q. Public/John Q. Public.


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Unspinning the Spin: The Women's Media Center Guide to Fair and Accurate Language

By Rosalie Maggio


 

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