Putting Men First (In A Sentence) May Be On The Way Out

Putting Men First (In A Sentence) May Be On The Way Out
A wedding couple made of plastic, models for wedding cake, isolated on white background
A wedding couple made of plastic, models for wedding cake, isolated on white background

It's a small detail in a story that's not about gender: today, Times media columnist David Carr referred to Laura and Chris Amico, founders of the crime-tracking website Homicide Watch DC, as a "wife and husband team." Carr says not using the more common "husband and wife" was a conscious decision, one that made sense because Laura Amico is the "conceptual author" of Homicide Watch DC: "I see no reason why she should have to hang onto the back of his shirt in the hierarchy of language, so I put her first."

"Wife and husband" may not have caught on in a broader way just yet. Use of the term in news articles looks relatively flat over the past eight years, and while it's risen in search frequency, it's done so only in tandem with "husband and wife."

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