Earlier quoted context omitted.
On the other hand, consider terms like "cowboy", "best boy", and "bus boy". While "cowgirl" exists, it's usually associated with a different set of roles than a cowboy. We also usually find "cowboy coder" in a negative context, but a search now for "cowgirl coder" finds more positive contexts. Eg, "My name is Tarah Wheeler Van Vlack, and I blog about Linux, coding, current technology, and women’s issues in the IT wor…
I have two cousins who are cowboys. There is no such reference to "cattle handler" west of the mississippi so far as I know. And as I said, I haven't often prevailed in such arguments, but the question I have for you, is what are you doing to not make women and girls uncomfortable in our industry? I think this argument has gone off the rails with the bit about dresses, periods, and giving birth.
The research I did earlier was based on the Wikipedia entry for "cowboy" and verification that it's used globally. It seems to be common in NZ/AU. I can demonstrate that it's used by people west of the Mississippi, such as:
> "Two nationally recognized cattle handling experts, Tom Noffsinger and Curt Pate, will be in Moses Lake[, Washington] ... Day one will feature Noffsinger, a veterinarian and low-stress cattle handling consultant, from Benkelman, Neb.." - http://farmprogress.com/story-nationally-known-cattle-handle...
> Born on April 1, 1883, in Waxahachie, Texas, Allen began working as a cattle handler at the age of ten in Jack County, Texas. - https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/falnq
> Cattle handler Temple Grandin to speak at workshop - http://www.farmandranchguide.com/news/livestock/cattle-handl...
(FWIW, I've heard Temple Grandin speak.) It may be that in the US "cattle handler" is more associated with her style of low-stress cattle management; perhaps to place the emphasis on the cattle than the cowboy. I can think of other reasons as well.
However, there's an entry for it in the "Classified Index of Occupations and Industries: 1960 [US] Census of Population" at https://books.google.com/books?id=8W7E7S9UTKEC&pg=PR3&lpg=PR... so it is not a new term. ("Cowboy -- Stockyards" is another category, as is cowpuncher; perhaps I should include 'cowpuncher' as another non-gender-specific alternative to cowhand?)
This suggests that you and I have different styles; why did you not attempt to verify your beliefs before writing them? I have two uncles who are/were pilots, but that does not give me special knowledge of aviation vocabulary.
Regarding your question - I do not like your rhetorical approach. It comes across like a change of topic to place me on the defensive. No matter how I respond, you can say that it's not enough, or you can attempt to second-guess my failures, or say that what I have done has "gone off the rails". I do not believe you spent much time on what I wrote previously, so don't think you would spend time in understanding anything else I write.