Hi Helix, my question is:
Why are the endings -elle and -trix bad?
I never thougth that the society that I have in mind would question any convention because the matriarchy is by Constitution a benevolent Tyranny.
Every aspect of the people's lives are dictated by the state.
For example, the Empress is able to locate anyone in any district of her continent because there is a system of pass papers at every so many dozen miles, that has to be checked at a posada which is a roadside hostel and traveler's stop. These are mandated by law.
But the people who slip through this net are restricted in this way:
a culture of heavy reward for informing on anyone who tries to evade the pass system is encouraged by the state. And the public is reminded that no one is worth the risk of being arrested for if they see something illegal and don't report it.
A level of poverty is secretly maintained by the Matriarchy in order to ensure that the poor will always inform on anyone close because of persistent financial need.
So, if a resident tries to evade even that, the Matriarchy understands that he will have to contact somebody somewhere, at sometime, whether it be for salt, or to ask for directions, or to ask for news. Then that loner would be once again on the radar.
