I’m not seeing the problem with ‘mistress’. Wiktionary cites the very first meaning as: “A woman, specifically one with great control, authority or ownership”, and provides an example sentence: “She was the mistress of the estate-mansion, and owned the horses.” You know, the same way as ‘master’ was used.
Apparently I’ve read more than my necessary share of US literature about the slavery times (considering I’ve never been to the US), because I have no trouble imagining a matron commanding the slaves.
Moreover, further down Wiktionary explicitly cites ‘dominatrix’ as another meaning of ‘mistress’.
It’s not that they are looking for a feminine version of master, it’s that they want a gender neutral version. Which master already fills. As do any number of other options the person I replied to mentioned.
I’m not seeing the problem with ‘mistress’. Wiktionary cites the very first meaning as: “A woman, specifically one with great control, authority or ownership”, and provides an example sentence: “She was the mistress of the estate-mansion, and owned the horses.” You know, the same way as ‘master’ was used.
Apparently I’ve read more than my necessary share of US literature about the slavery times (considering I’ve never been to the US), because I have no trouble imagining a matron commanding the slaves.
Moreover, further down Wiktionary explicitly cites ‘dominatrix’ as another meaning of ‘mistress’.
It’s not that they are looking for a feminine version of master, it’s that they want a gender neutral version. Which master already fills. As do any number of other options the person I replied to mentioned.