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this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2024
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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.
Gotcha.
I don't think it's either.
Ok, though I have never heard anyone say that without joking, change that " I went on a date with a male". Offensive? "I went on a date with a dude" Offensive? I don't think so. Similarly everyone gets objectified, that's part of being a human unfortunately since everyone uses everyone else as objects.
Asking to stop isn't a point, I can ask you to stop breathing does that obligate your breathing to be offensive? No, it simply means you feel that way. We don't call asians oriental anymore because it's not accurate and comes from a time when the average person if they met an Asian person they had probably met a Chinese person. Fun example being Indians, they've asked routinely not to be called that and guess what? They keep getting called Indians. Offensive? No, hilarious because all it points out is white European hubris. Similarly, what Steven wants to be called is irrelevant, what they respond to is if you get my point.
As the supreme court famously said, "one man's vulgarity is another man's lyric." I can't determine what is going to offend you because there is such a crazy weird amount of shit to be offended about, an accurate title that just makes you feel weird is not something worth worrying about. I avoid it anyway because I don't like to hear people's word virtue signaling rants when I don't.
It's not not-nice to call a female a female, it might make you feel weird but that's a you issue not an anyone else issue.
Using "male" and "female" as nouns is offensive because it dehumanizes the subject and reduces them to their gender.
A "woman" is inherently human -- specifically an adult female human. By calling that person only "a female" you remove their humanity and maturity, leaving only their sex. This is why it's so common for creepy types, and why it's so creepy, because it betrays that only one of those three descriptors is important to them.
It doesn't dehumanize anyone though, male and female are the two most common sexes in humanity so it being either doesn't disqualify you for humanity anymore than any other multi hyphenate.
Also no woman isn't specist in is etymology, its sexist technically we only take it as human because only a human can consent to enter into marriage.
Wif = wife / man = mankind. Literally the wif of men, technically you aren't even a woman if you aren't married or at least capable of being married.
Sorry. I didn't realize I was talking to the man in the article.
That's a non argument.
"You're a bad person! How dare you ask a legitimate question in a respectful way!"
Rather than "x is because of y" or "I'm sorry I'm not sure I can answer that" but rather going out of your way to be cruel.
So fun question, how is the way you're talking to me not dehumanizing.
Oh it is dehumanizing. You're crazy.
See another non answer and an insult. If you had an argument you'd make it and clearly you haven't because you don't. If someone asks a question maybe be nice or I dunno keep your hateful inside shit inside to save for a therapist.
No one owes you the pretense that you're not a kook.
Several people have given you reasonable answers and your responses have ranged from irrational nonsense to TimeCube lunacy.
Having given a reasonable answer and gotten tinfoil craziness in response, no rational person is going to continue interacting with you like you're rational.
I never said now implied anyone owed me anything, that's all in your imagination but does sorta parse or the type of person you are.
Yes, we are having a conversation, ie. An exchange of ideas and ideals. If someone says ""x is because of y" doesn't make sense to me because q is not y" for future reference the answer is almost never going to be "hah retard! Why are you so retarded!".
They're not tinfoil crazy questions or they'd be easy to answer, the fact you haven't answered them and instead turned to personal insults based on your personal perceptions of me proves you can't answer the question. You're literally proving my point as to why perception of offense is different than intended offense.
Hilariously inept, love it.
I like that you call some nonsense about woman meaning wifeman an "exchange of ideas". It's utter nonsense, so in what sense is it an idea - that you thought of it? Or have you been reading "A history of English words for people with preconceived notions"?
That's is literally it's origin, I'm sorry facts are offensive to you.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/woman
Takes three seconds to look up bud.
Yet you didn't bother to read it...
In what way boss. Vague answers aren't a thing worth giving in this context, you're not a yogi just say what you mean.
It's only vague because you can't read.
I've already explained this all ... but you can't read...
Use a source bud, nuh uh don't mean nothin.
You're the source. You post crazy shit. So you're crazy.
Really not hard....
You're the source. You post childish douchebaggy conments. So you're a douchebag.
Really not that hard.
Yep. That's the point. That's the rational way to approach irrational people.
You inserted yourself into a conversation not me so the hubris and feigning indignantion is straight up moronic.
You brought it up, kook...
Not at all. I was having a conversation with another person and you insisted your vile fucking personality into the situation.
Just further demonstrating your inability to read.
Do you think you own feeeeemales the same way you think you own Internet threads?
Bro you could not provide more accurate call outs for your own ineptitude.
A. I don't own anyone nor do I think anyone should be owned. B. I'm not six so I don't "pwn" anyone nor do I add inexplicable extra letters.
"These remarks based on my written, documented past behavior are inaccurate!"
Yeah buddy. That doesn't say it means or has ever meant wifeman. Woman has always, from its first use up to now, meant a female human. So you read things and then interpret them as having whatever meaning you like?
You're a bafoon. Quote where I said it meant wife man or in any way departed from the cited evidence.
You don't know what you're talking about, that's ok.
"Wif = wife / man = mankind. Literally the wif of men"
It meant no such thing, ever. Wif didnt mean wife when this word was created. It meant what we now mean by the word woman. And the word wifman in today's language would mean woman-person. It's right there in the article you linked that you are unable to understand, or quite possibley, chose to misunderstand.
That's how a compound word becomes a thing, yes. You're not making the point you think you're making bud.
You should read the comment chain instead of cherry picking and assuming you know what I meant with your limited context and outward hostility.
You have no idea what your talking about. It is not and never was a compound word of wife and man. The word wif meant the same thing as the modern day word woman. The word wifman was a compound word that would be translated into modern English as woman-person, with the exact same meaning as woman is used to today. It had nothing at all to do with being married. I've read the comment chain, where you say, repeatedly, that the word woman originates with a meaning related to marriage. It doesn't, at all. You do not understand what you are reading.
No, it was wif - man. I offered a source, an indignant nuh uh is not a source so how about you go and get one.
Compare that to female.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/female
Which one seems to you to be more sexist and therefore dehumanizing? The one who's derived from the concept of a wife as property or the one based on Latin for basically can breastfeed.
Property v fucking life creator