Those guys are the rapiest ones. It’s disingenuous to act like the types of men who call women ‘females’ aren’t the same guys who neg, space invade and spike drinks.
It’s fairly common where I live, of both genders.
Do people commonly say “men and females” where you live?
Men/males.
I use to call to females woman
I write it females because I don’t like the look of the word woman, it’s not a sexist thing it just never looks right to me and I always worry I did it wrong.
In general, female is an adjective. It can be used as a noun, but generally shouldn’t be, at least when talking about humans. So you can say “my female colleague” or “a woman I work with”. You can say “the female mind” or “a woman’s brain.” You can say “a panel of female postal workers” or “a panel of women who work for the post office.” If you stick to the adjective/noun rule, you’ll come off far less offensive/gross sounding. Hope this helps.
I just avoid it altogether and rephrase my use of “females” to be inoffensive but to be honest I don’t particularly get why it’s so offensive.
I want to start by saying this is an attempt at an explanation not just for you, but anyone who stumbles upon this thread, and is not making any assumptions of anyone’s character.
The answer to why it’s offensive or gross is twofold.
First is that using it as a noun like saying “I went on a date with a female” sounds clinical or sterile. Female as a noun is mostly used in science and medicine, and women don’t want to feel like test subjects. They get objectified enough as it is. Is it technically incorrect? No. But it feels that way to the person being called it.
Which leads to the second, more important reason. They’ve asked. Again, to emphasize the importance: They’ve asked. In general (yes there are exceptions), women have asked people to stop referring to them as females (the noun), and if you respect people, then you call them what they ask. You hopefully don’t call Asians Orientals anymore. And when your friend Stephen says he goes by Steve, hopefully you say Steve the majority of the time. Or if Richard really hates being called Dick, then hopefully you don’t call him Dick. Language is fluid and cultural, and if you want to get along with people (Asians, Steve, Richard, women) then you should learn to use language their way.
I think that is really the more important reason, because it’s totally fair if you don’t understand why someone else finds something offensive. Everyone has had different life experiences and not everything offends everyone. But when a large swath of society says they find it offensive and you continue to do so, then you are being offensive regardless of whether or not you understand why. And in the end, if you choose to continue to be offensive just because you don’t buy the reasoning, then you shouldn’t be surprised when you get bad reactions and find it hard to bond.
Tips for a better life: Call people what they want to be called. Be nice for no reason. If in doubt, ask for advice from someone who doesn’t look like you.
Hope this makes at least some sense.
“Female as a noun is mostly used in science and medicine, and women don’t want to feel like test subjects.”
I was told not to do this in science courses, mostly because it’s not correct rather than notions of creepiness. It applied to any adjective but male and female were called out specifically. This was decades before “woke” was a thing.
I think it’s not really used in the sciences, it’s used by people who want to sound scientific but aren’t.
That’s interesting. In my science classes, and several others past level 12, instructors did and returning for CE, still do use fe/male. I’m wondering if this is regional, because a. there are plenty of military bases in my state and surrounding, b. plenty of medical university hospitals, c. plenty of elderly. What I’m getting at is people get into a habit of speaking a certain way at work, and it does spill over into everyday speech, unconsciously, especially when others speak similarly, and if they don’t, seldom raise an eyebrow, let alone a fuss.
Clinical nomenclature has a place but social interactions aint it
I will never understand the drama over the word “female”.
I set up a doctor’s appointment the other day, and I was asked if I had a doctor preference. I responded and said “I’d prefer a female doctor.” According to the internet, apparently I should have asked for a “woman doctor”.
Reversing the gender, I’d be asking for either a “male doctor” or a “man doctor”. I will literally never use the phrase “I’d prefer a man doctor, please.” Because it has weird connotations, and doesn’t even roll off the tongue as well.
So because I believe in male/female equality, I am necessarily required to treat them the same, with similar varieties of words.
So what’s the problem? Give me a reason why I should use the less technical versions of words that invoke social-gender-stereotypes when I want to avoid all of that entirely.
There’s a difference between using it as an adjective and a noun.
Requesting “a female doctor” is not as bad as requesting “a female.”
I say females and am one. Title has me wondering if it’s from hearing it so frequently.
Go watch star trek. Ferengis will absolutely set you straight
I’ve read Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury had interesting thoughts about offensive language, as well.
So do most people, but overuse by idiots doesn’t negate the concept
There’s something to be said for picking one’s battles. The concept stands, as well as the concept of not being in a state of perpetual outrage. Life can be sweeter, for it.
Be well.
