“Actor” vs “Actress”, what’s going on there? 

A man who acts is an “actor”. A woman who acts is also an “actor”. But some still say “actress”.

Sounds ok to me. We use different words for a cow and a bull.

We do. And that’s so important, when walking through the countryside alone. 

Ah, so gender of livestock = important, gender of actor = not so?

Correct. “Actor” refers to your profession, not your gender. A female doctor has never been a doctress. And we no longer say e.g. authoress, editress, poetess or sculptress, because…silly. And of all the businesses, showbusiness could use a little shove in the right direction here. Hollywood’s gender pay gap? About 45%.

So…how/why did “actress” become a thing?

“Actress” is loaded with historical bias. For a long time, women weren’t allowed to act and all parts were played by men, remember Shakespeare in Love? When women were eventually allowed to tread the boards, they too were called “actors”. Then in the 1700s, “actress” started to be used and along with the different job title, came a different job description. And being an “actress” became synonymous with prostitution and loose morals. 

I think “actor” sounds masculine

It’s actually neutral. Let’s ask Merriam Webster… Actor - “One who acts in a play, movie, television show, etc/one who behaves as if acting a part.” And then… “My sister went to drama school to become an actor”. You can’t really argue with that. 

But we say “lioness”, so..

Yes. In English you can denote a female version of a noun by adding the suffix -ess e.g. Tigress, lioness. But it’s not used often - just try it with “elephant” or “lizard”. The suffix -ess also isn’t used so much with nouns that stem from verbs, like most professions. Try adding it where it’s not wanted at your peril e.g “I love Katheryn Bigelow. She’s my favourite directress.”

But what do the actors say? 

In the acting world, everyone is an “actor”, until it comes to awards. The Oscars, Academy Awards, BAFTAs, EFAs and IMDB awards all maintain “Best Actress” and “Best Actor” categories. The Screen Actors’ Guild approaches it in a “separate but equal” way, with “Best Female Actor” and “Best Male Actor”. Maybe one day there will be more awards in different acting categories for all.

In conclusion…

Would you rather be “the greatest actress” or “the greatest actor” of all time? By losing that suffix, the playing field just doubled for everyone. In general, “actress” just feels outdated. You can keep on saying it, but be prepared to become a tiny dot in evolution’s rearview mirror, en route to the illustrious level playing field. 

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