Date: Wed, 17 Jan 1996 10:18:02 -0500

From: Ronald Butters amspeech[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ACPUB.DUKE.EDU

Subject: Re: Denny's question reformulated



The term FAMILY RESTAURANT (and all compounds of the form FAMILY [noun])

strike me as rather too "right-wing-politically-correct" in that the term

FAMILY has been

appropriated by ultra-right-wing propagandists who use it bash gays and

lesbians and artists with whom they disagree. I realize that FAMILY is

used as a kind of synonym for SIMPLE or UNSOPHISTICATED and also sometime

to convey the notion that children are welcome, but I tend to avoid

establishments that advertise themselves as FAMILY X because I feel

excluded unless I go in with my grandchildren. The chief characteristic

of fast-food restaurants is that they purvey fast food. So that is what I

call them: FAST-FOOD RESTAURANTS. If I want to include DENNYS and SHONIES

the like, I say CHAIN restaurants.