And the two acknowledge that there are definite limits to their use of the alternate spellings. They both say that they would not bother trying to hand in an academic paper using the word "womyn."

"Professors would not know what I was talking about and would think it was a spelling error," Asay explains.

But even in academic writing, gender-oriented linguistic reforms are beginning to appear more frequently. Asay and McDonald say that they now use "she" as an indefinite pronoun in their papers.

"We're all humans so we should all be included," says Jessica S. Yellin '93, who also uses the feminine pronoun.

Advocates of the "gender-inclusive" trend say it is not confined to feminists and their supporters, although they acknowledge that they are a small minority. Most people aren't bothered by the change, Asay says, but a few are threatened by it.

"When you say something like changing the way you spell women for a political reason, people get threatened for reasons that have nothing to do with grammar," says Asay. "It's a much deeper problem than that."

When labelled groups select a term to describe themselves, they are asserting a kind of self-control, Asay says. "That's challenging the power structure."

`Minorities' No More

Ethnic minorities also exercise this power when they choose a name for themselves.

Ever since the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson called for "African American" to replace "Black" for persons of African descent, the new term has become increasingly prominent nationwide.

McDonald, who describes herself as African-American, says that the distinction is important because it conveys a sense of heritage and culture.

"It's an example of people redefining themselves," McDonald says.

But there are some who avoid the term studiously.

"I always describe myself as Black because I don't really identify with Africa," says Shataia L. Brown '94.

On the other hand, she says that she is not particularly attached to the older term, explaining that when she was younger she "thought it was stupid because that wasn't actually my skin color."