You see it in news articles, or especially twitter posts, men referring to a woman as a “female”. It pisses me off, it sounds so incel-y and misogynist
You see it in news articles, or especially twitter posts, men referring to a woman as a “female”. It pisses me off, it sounds so incel-y and misogynist
Comments
Asking in all seriousness, What do you prefer?
It’s like they forgot there’s a word for it.
I’d rather be called a bitch. Female is like they are examining specimens of an alien species. I hate it.
Female person? 😆
Have you ever seen Friday Night Dinner?
I appreciate the use as it effectively informs me immediately that the speaker is absolutely 100% an idiot that I have zero reason to consider the drivel escaping their lips
I agree with you but at the same time it’s giving them power where there shouldn’t be any. So I’ve started saying female casually to dedramatise it 🤷♀️
And I can only read it like “feeeemales” in an annoying voice.
I was just thinking about this. In science and medicine, “male” and “female” are used most often. Not colloquially though.
The other day I caught myself using “females” because I was trying to encompass women and girls.
Serious question: is that ok in that situation? I do the same with men and boys (“males”) when I’m trying to refer to all males, regardless of age. Though I can be loquacious, I’m always looking for ways to be brief and clear.
I don’t quite remember the context of the conversation.
I always read those kinds of lines in a Squidward voice.
The FEEEEEMAALES
Whenever I hear it, in my head the association with tragic, sweaty sci-fi nerds is instantly, irrevocably forged.
HYOO-MUN FEE-MALES
r/menandfemales
The only people that professionally use “female” to refer to human women or girls are doctors… and cops.
One group has pursued medical and scientific education to heal people and communities.
The other group is a violent gang that ignores the crimes committed by people like a child molesting president so they can focus on a kid that picked discarded and expired food out of the dumpster at the grocery store he worked at.
Cops call humans “females” and “males” because they think we are sub human animals.
If I hear or see the word men I use women, same goes for male, ai use female.
I’m trying to learn how to adjust, but it’s been 40+ years using them this way.
How it’s said matters. Women. Can sound just as crude as Female, depending on how it’s used.
It’s only gotten worse with the anti-trans hysteria. Transphobes love the word, when they’re not defining women solely by their genitalia.
Ugh, I hate it. Sounds like you’re talking about a dog.
I feel like it used to be a lot more neutral of a word before incel types started using it all the time. It’s kinda become a dog whistle for misogyny.
What’s worse is other women saying “females”
https://www.reddit.com/user/WontTellYouHisName/comments/1ew8mtm/calling_women_females/
I usually picture a Ferengi saying this. And “incel-y and misogynistic” is definitely a good description of a lot of those characters.
I find it weird and I am a man.
The only time I use female is if the word is simply more appropriate or sounds smarter. Like, female anatomy sounds better than woman anatomy. Seems weird to me to refer to men or women as males or females.
“Look at those females over there.”
Dude, you sound like a fucking idiot lol.
Its so dehumanizing.
Woman is a human.
Female could describe any species.
Its a peek into a man’s mind and how they view women if they call them “females”, like an animal.
It seems to be a usage among the incel/redpill/tradbro culture.
Using female as an adjective: usually fine
Using female as a noun when you’re talking about a person: definitely intentionally being used to dehumanize women
It’s dehumanizing and also uneducated. “Female” is an adjective and needs a noun with it. If you’ve established the noun (“male and female lemurs”) you can then say (“the females carry the newborns”) and people understand you are still talking about lemurs.
Humans are not “female humans.” We are “women.” Most of us have “female reproductive systems” but we don’t wear “female clothes” or have “female eyes” or “female stomachs.” When we have health issues specific to our sex, they are “women’s health issues” and when they are specific to our gender they are “I hate being a woman and trying to get treatment.”
Anyone who uses “female” to refer to a human person can only see that person as an object to have sex on.
Using that term for human women causes me to instantly stop listening to the person. Huge red flag.
My mind goes straight to Quark, on Star Trek DS9.
Its offensive, it’s meant to be offensive by those that use it outside of science setting. They know exactly what they’re saying and somehow think they’re getting a dig in without the intended target(s) knowing.
They still can’t say women but it’s better than girls
I remember me in a really close dude friend having this argument. No matter how I explained it to him it’s like he just purposely ignored what I was saying. He didn’t change his mind and apologize until like a year later when he got a girlfriend 💀
They don’t care. They’re incels.
Twitter is still around?
I have tried to make this exact point before myself, glad someone else feels the same
r/menandfemales
Ok, wo-man
It’s literally an adjective so it needs a noun, but I don’t think their lack of education is the problem :-/
As someone that catches myself saying this from time to time. Every time I use it I use it seemingly for the same reason.
As an expecting baby girl dad anytime now I’ve also been thinking about things like this.
With seemingly a sizable loud portion of English culture and conversations pushed around, and in some way therefore English language itself, we cannot agree anymore on what a lady/women is. (I really haven’t seen this much in other languages but I might be ignorant)
So when specifics are wanting to be made, phrases like: “People who menstrate”, “People who can get pregnant”. “People born with internal reproductive organs”; All of which I have seen in real news and media.
That’s long winded, and honestly to be feels more demeaning especially to people who would fit the traditional sense of woman but not always these categories because of unlucky conditions.
So when I want to be specific and in English, I will sometimes refer to this group of people as females.
I know it’s not comfortable, and I don’t like hearing it. But I think it’s because the words I want to use have started to mean nothing, because of the attempt to make it cover a huge category that can’t be described and agreed.
So I ask this. When someone say something like I want to really work to see how more can feel empowered and join the __ industry. Or we need more __ on boards of companies and managing, to better represent employees.
And they want to say the people that were raised by society to be the traditional interpretation of the word woman. What word should be used?
I want to use Ladies/Woman. But it feels like it’s a word that has come to mean nothing.
Also yes, I know at least 2 people who have stated to me that they half committed to changing because they are gaming the ‘equality’ programmes. As someone from a country that hires based on demographic markers this really annoys me.
> Note: This is clearly a sensitive topic; For many people and for many reasons. And I’m honestly asking what a should be today. Yes I’ve over generalized in many places, but I’m also trying to not create a book here, I think it’s already a short story 😅
As a non native English speaker I hate it too (in my native language “female” refers to animals) but it’s so ubiquitous I’ve learnt to just use it in the contexts that people usually use it, in normal, nonderogatory meaning.
Or so my brother likes to call them “people with vaginas or pussies” like.. we have a term.. use it correctly
Male and female are adjectives. If you wouldn’t use “males” to describe boys and men, don’t use “females” to describe girls and women.
However, in a medical or law enforcement context, they will use male and female as nouns. A few years ago, I had a medical emergency and called for an ambulance. While walking me into the emergency room (I was ambulatory), the EMS referred to me as a [my age then] female to the triage nurse. I suspect that he referred to any guys he transported as [age] male.
It can help if you think of them pronouncing it such that it rhymes with ‘tamales’.
The word woman is powerful as are the women it refers to. I think some people find the word woman intimidating even grave. One is not referring to a random creature, but a woman.