I want to put my thoughts here because this has been stuck in my head all week.

I’ve noticed that we, as a class, (myself included), tend to refer to Walt Whitman exclusively as Whitman, and Emily Dickinson mostly as Emily. I’m wondering if this is an unconscious misogyny-based thing, or if I’m just reading too much into it.

I remember this being a major point of contention for me during the Harris/Trump race. The act of referring to a woman by her first name, instead of the traditional, often exclusive, use of last names when referring to men, serves to undermine a woman’s authority or respectability, making her seem less formal and more approachable.

I’m not sure if this is something that we could, or should, alter, I just think it’s interesting and maybe worth talking about. I hate the idea of Dickinson’s strength as a poet to be undermined by the tone of familiarity we often use with women.