[tsimionescu]

Reading through the first 100 results, I see it mostly used to refer specifically to adult male individuals, or to "a man" meaning specifically an adult male ("would've flipped out if a weird man said some creepy remarks"). There are some uses where it may or may not be gender neutral ("you are a Spammier man than I" - may refer to a man or a woman, but it is probably used because the author is male; a woman might have written "a Spammier woman than I" instead, while also addressing both men and women).

There are also clear cases where "a man" is used to refer to "a human", such as "wheat growing taller than a man".

Rather more interestingly, if you instead search for "men", you'll see that is used essentially exclusively to mean "adult males". The only exceptions I found was "and because the greed of a few men is such that they think it is necessary that they own everything" and even there I'm not sure.

[Blikkentrekker]

> Reading through the first 100 results, I see it mostly used to refer specifically to adult male individuals, or to "a man" meaning specifically an adult male ("would've flipped out if a weird man said some creepy remarks"). There are some uses where it may or may not be gender neutral ("you are a Spammier man than I" - may refer to a man or a woman, but it is probably used because the author is male; a woman might have written "a Spammier woman than I" instead, while also addressing both men and women).

I disagree; the first uses of “man” in an indeterminate sense are these:

> down the economy, Here is the truth the republicans feel uncomfortable with a black man in the with house and a lot of voters are riding the republicans coat tail

> someday you might ask me to help you move. Or, to kill a man. # Leonard: I'll doubt he'll ask you to kill a man

> say, in 35 years of working I have almost always had at least one man who I felt " wrong " about. (the exception? Disney Studios!

> boyfriend, well husband, but either way would've flipped out if a weird man said some creepy remarks regarding me at a christmas party. To me this says

I have specifically included up till your reference, which was the first of an indeterminate usage of the word “man” that by implication is most likely gendered, whereas all the others are most likely not.

So there are three sexless ones before the first gendered one.

[tsimionescu]

I would argue that the one about 'a black man in the white house' was in fact gendered, though it is somewhat debatable. It was referencing Barack Obama specifically. If there had been a black woman president, the phrase would have definitely been written to specifically say 'a black woman in the whitehouse'. On the other hand, if it had been written before either a black man or a black woman had (tried to) become president, it may have still used 'man' in a gender less way.