revoked feminist license

Today in the Contracts review session (where he AGAIN called me by my first name IN FRONT OF PEOPLE - how scandalous!!) I asked if we needed to know the cases by names.

"OK, so instead of Ricketts v. Scothorn, I could say, 'That case with the girl whose grandfather offered her -' "

"No," the Dean of the Law School interrupted. "Because of course she is not a girl, she's a woman."

"Oh, how old was she?" I realize I'm losing fast because I know this fight well - AND I'M ALWAYS ON THE OTHER SIDE.

"I don't care how old she was; she was out in the world working and therefore an adult and therefore a woman, not a girl. Look at the restroom signs - they say women, not ladies, not girls - and ..."

There was no way to recover, so I kept loudly apologizing as the lecture went on and on.

Then the Boy That All Professors Ridicule raised his hand and said, "But, isn't it contextually correct, since the case is from 1913, and they called her girl in the opinion?"

I almost kissed him, because I don't know if it was nicer for him to deflect attention from me or to try to justify my misspeak. Especially when I haven't been particularly warm to him - having snubbed his attempts to get me to join study groups.

My feminist license is revoked for today. ME. Of all people. *I* got called to the carpet on THIS.

Shocking and horrifying, and shows the level of stress I'm under, I guess.

Sigh. My head is hung in shame and he stopped calling me by my first name.