Yes, when I was young it was always 'actress' and now it is generically 'actor'. What do I think about that? Couldn't care less!
Generally people who think this is a big deal have an ulterior motive. Like pretending that some fake culture war over 'woke-ism' is more important than addressing the economy or climate change. Getting passionate about these terms is playing into their hands.
Turning the term "actor" into a gender neutral term took a lot of sustained effort by large numbers of people including the actors themselves, the actors they worked with, the other people they work with (directors, producers, and anyone else interviewed) and the support of the media interviewing them and publishing about them.
And yet, the Oscars still has "best actress" and "best supporting actress" categories.
Professional titles have been in transition for decades. Gender neutral terms have been developed and adopted. "Flight Attendant", restaurant "server", etc. One rarely sees the term Aviatrix anymore.
The question of
"Doctor or Doctress?" was addressed by Samuel Gregory, Secretary of the New England Female Medical College in the linked academic paper from 1868. As SG notes in the introduction,
"The press is a potent agency in moulding forms of speech..." He favored doctress. As we know it didn't stick.
I read a funny article a long time ago mocking one specific change in professional terminology. What title to give to women selected to take the job known as Corporate Chairman of the Board of Directors? Chairwoman? Chairperson? The solution at the time was to call everyone with the position the "Board Chair." The article complained, "but a chair is piece of furniture!"
The choice of Hero/Heroin is easily addressed by authors. Use any term you want.
en.wikipedia.org
