Effeminate punctuation? ( ; v. —)

[Heradel]

From Salon:

Page Rockwell: I love the semicolon. But then, I also love the eyelash curler.

Catherine Price: I'd never really thought of punctuation as gendered, though I suppose the wink of the semicolon could be considered more girlish and coy than the straightforward, masculine em dash.

Tracy Clark-Flory: Clearly, men find the em dash a reassuring phallic symbol, while the semicolon reawakens their Freudian castration anxiety. What better way to cope with penis envy than to make frequent use of the semicolon?

Judy Berman: The em dash actually has feminine connotations for me. It could have something to do with Emily Dickinson, or my former boss (a woman), whose em-dash habit I eventually picked up. Either way, semicolons do tend to result in longer sentences, and I think those have long been seen as the "feminine" answer to short, abrupt "masculine" sentences. Generally, though, the attempt to declare any type of punctuation masculine or feminine seems pretty reductive to me.

Kate Harding: Seems to me they're arguing that complex thoughts and nuanced self-expression are chick things, and I'm not touching that one.

Katharine Mieszkowski: Confidential to the Boston Globe: The semicolon is so not "girly." It's obviously transgender. It's neither a colon nor a period, with its own unique significance. Have these people never heard of "America's Next Top Model"?
...

I find myself preferring the em dash(—, as opposed to the en dash (-)), but I'm not sure it's a male thing as much as I never really understood the point of the semi-colon on a gut level.

[wintermute]

Clearly, the only manly-manly punctuation mark is the exclamation mark. Anything that doesn't warrant being shouted (preferably through a bullhorn) isn't worth saying, unless you're some kind of ladies-underwear-wearing sissy-boy.

Or, to put it another way, how incredibly sexist.

[Russell Nash]

Clearly, the only manly-manly punctuation mark is the exclamation mark. Anything that doesn't warrant being shouted (preferably through a bullhorn) isn't worth saying, unless you're some kind of ladies-underwear-wearing sissy-boy.

Or, to put it another way, how incredibly sexist.

But then why is it always women who add seven exclamation points to what they write?!!!!!!!

[errant371]

I'm not sure it's a male thing as much as I never really understood the point of the semi-colon on a gut level.

This reply will seem trite, however:  all you need to know about the semi-colon can be found in this book.

The semi-colon is an extremely useful and important piece of punctuation, but one very difficult to master.  I once had a professor who would dock marks on papers that had semi-colons in them since he had never seen a student use one correctly.  However, proper use of the semi-colon adds elegence and style to any writer's work.

[Heradel]

I'm not sure it's a male thing as much as I never really understood the point of the semi-colon on a gut level.

This reply will seem trite, however:  all you need to know about the semi-colon can be found in this book.

The semi-colon is an extremely useful and important piece of punctuation, but one very difficult to master.  I once had a professor who would dock marks on papers that had semi-colons in them since he had never seen a student use one correctly.  However, proper use of the semi-colon adds elegence and style to any writer's work.

I know how to use them in an intellectual sense of knowing the rules, I just never use them when I'm actually writing because that part of me that picks up the letters and punctuation from their little tins and places them in the printing press never finds reason to use a ; or is simply missing the ; leads.

[Swamp]

I like to use semicolons; they come in very handy.

However, I use em dashes to replace parathesis or elispses, not semicolons.

If the use of semicolon marks me as effeminate, I can live with that.

[errant371]

I know how to use them in an intellectual sense of knowing the rules, I just never use them when I'm actually writing because that part of me that picks up the letters and punctuation from their little tins and places them in the printing press never finds reason to use a ; or is simply missing the ; leads.

You set type by hand?  That is sooooo cool.

Still, I like using the semi-colon; perhaps too much.  In any case, there has been a movement away from ; in the recent years because of its somewhat obscure rules of use.  So much so that I rarely see it anywhere.  A pity, if you ask me.

[Listener]

I like to use semicolons; they come in very handy.

However, I use em dashes to replace parathesis or elispses, not semicolons.

If the use of semicolon marks me as effeminate, I can live with that.

I'm the same... tons of semicolons, and lots of parenthetical em-dashes.

[SteveCooperOrg]

Semicolons are easy; they just join related sentences. A semicolon joins two complete sentences and show a closer relationship than using a full stop. They substitute for fragments like 'therefore,' 'that means,' and 'for example'.

Also, I think you can use them to seperate lists of items where the items themselves contain commas; The winners are from Bethlehem, PA; Syracuse, New York; Los Angeles, California and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Both parentheses and em-dashes are a little suspect. They can suggest a rewrite; often you have embedded one idea inside another, and you're better off placing the two ideas adjascent. Or just use commas for simple parenthetic expressions. "The dog took the treat (half-chewed and slimy with saliva) and placed it in my lap," is better written "The dog took the treat, half-chewed and slimy with saliva, and placed it in my lap."

Anyway, I'm 3,000 miles from my copy of Strunk and White, so I could be wrong...

[errant371]

Semicolons are easy; they just join related sentences. A semicolon joins two complete sentences and show a closer relationship than using a full stop. They substitute for fragments like 'therefore,' 'that means,' and 'for example'.

Also, I think you can use them to seperate lists of items where the items themselves contain commas; The winners are from Bethlehem, PA; Syracuse, New York; Los Angeles, California and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Both parentheses and em-dashes are a little suspect. They can suggest a rewrite; often you have embedded one idea inside another, and you're better off placing the two ideas adjascent. Or just use commas for simple parenthetic expressions. "The dog took the treat (half-chewed and slimy with saliva) and placed it in my lap," is better written "The dog took the treat, half-chewed and slimy with saliva, and placed it in my lap."

Anyway, I'm 3,000 miles from my copy of Strunk and White, so I could be wrong...

You are quite right.  The parathetical aside has gained much popularity at the expense of the comma and is quite often used incorrectly.  Like the semi-colon, the comma has so many rules that most people either use commas incorrectly or not at all.  Hell, there are several editors I know (and former teachers) who have no idea how to use the comma correctly.  I see commas everywhere (and parathetical asides, like this one!) and must restrain the urge to do some Truss style 'guerrilla punctuation'.

To be honest though, the its/it's thing always throws me.

[Heradel]

I know how to use them in an intellectual sense of knowing the rules, I just never use them when I'm actually writing because that part of me that picks up the letters and punctuation from their little tins and places them in the printing press never finds reason to use a ; or is simply missing the ; leads.

You set type by hand?  That is sooooo cool.
...

Well, no, I mean, I have set type by hand a couple times (ok, 3 times, for fun, not professional), but it's certainly not an ongoing thing as I can't really fit a printing press in my dorm room (the printing press in question was based off a 17th or early 18th century handpress and was made by a neighbor that also did blacksmithing as a hobby). I was being a bit more metaphorical — though you could just be being sarcastic and the sarcasm flew over my head.

[errant371]

I know how to use them in an intellectual sense of knowing the rules, I just never use them when I'm actually writing because that part of me that picks up the letters and punctuation from their little tins and places them in the printing press never finds reason to use a ; or is simply missing the ; leads.

You set type by hand?  That is sooooo cool.
...

Well, no, I mean, I have set type by hand a couple times (ok, 3 times, for fun, not professional), but it's certainly not an ongoing thing as I can't really fit a printing press in my dorm room (the printing press in question was based off a 17th or early 18th century handpress and was made by a neighbor that also did blacksmithing as a hobby). I was being a bit more metaphorical — though you could just be being sarcastic and the sarcasm flew over my head.

No sarcasm intended.  Setting type by hand would be a laborious process, but I would take my hat off to anyone who does it for fun!  I almost got my hands on an entire font of Times type when my university finally shut down it's old mechanical press, but they decided to keep it as a informational display at the Humanities Library.