Does ‘wench’ have a new meaning?

Jan 04, 2013 Letters

Dear Editor,
The word ‘wench’, which has been cropping up so much of late, reminded me of a misogynistic boss I once had. He had inherited five assistants, one of whom was a self-assertive young woman, a university graduate, whom he always referred to as ‘the wench’.
I always regarded this description as an unnecessary put-down and nothing more but wonder whether it now carries a different connotation, although my dictionary defines ‘wench’ as “facetious young woman”.
“Lovely lasses dressed as wenches”? How does a wench dress? Food for thought. I am inclined to the view that sexual harassment can take many forms, some of them extremely irritating, humiliating and difficult to prove. One such is visual. In the late-1960s or early-1970s, when charter flights from the UK to Guyana were popular, I had to visit the London office of the outfit arranging such a visit for me.
As the chap and I discussed details, I was subjected to what could only be described as a visual strip-search – eyes darting up and down in a disrespectful manner. I was shocked – I had not expected that. His older colleague, in another room, seemed to guess what was going on, came out on hearing my name and asked whether I was related to ‘the schoolmaster’, whom he knew.
That put an end to the chap’s unpleasant behaviour and offered an escape route, which I had not yet figured out. My husband handled the matter from then on.
Indeed, as V. Kissoon says: “…let us hope that all Guyanese… would feel free from fear and be able to identify themselves and own their viewpoints as we discuss issues publicly”.
Geralda Dennison

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