I'm gonna be so real with you, if I ever see you post the word "females", unless you're talking about like a scientific study on newts or sommat, I will never trust anything you ever say again.
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We watch a lot of nature docs in our family so we have a lot of discussion with our 5 and 7 yos about what male and female mean, when it applies, what difference it does and doesn't make. I actually kind of love the way it invites then to curiosity when "boy" and "girl" tend to shut it down.
I do have an exception because it is now estimated that 134 females are impregnated by a rapist every day in the United States. I specifically say it this way because far too many of them are not yet women, they’re girls as young as 8 years old.
Yeah but to be fair, cops also use “male” when describing male suspects. So in law enforcement and military context, I don’t think it’s sexist, per se.
I knew a friend of mine started going off on the deep end when he started saying things like “females are complicated.” My mind immediately went to nature documentaries, bird behavior, lionesses ripping apart their prey. Women are pretty straightforward, to be frank.
Now I'm flashing back to my "20-something youth pastor"-esque High Freq prof explaining that we had to "screw males into females" and never "females onto males" with a completely straight face.
It always comes off as weird in conversation. Just say women. It just usually flows better when talking about people.
Though your comment section is gonna be good to find some MAGA chuds to block lol.
I think personal preference is most important. I use female, usually with the qualifier “biological female”, but am definitely not a woman. I'd loathe “person with uterus” for myself, because the uterus i.e. bio ability to have children never had meaning for my Self. 'Tis all about preference 💖
Self-labelling is definitely a different thing, it's more the weird feeling when it's used as a group term. It's because most often it's used in the context of "men and females"
I tend to use "people with pregnancy-capable anatomy" or some variation on that when referring to issues of reproductive health and freedom. But outside of that context, yeah, it doesn't matter.
My bits have never worked for pregnancy, but they do require occasional anatomy-specific care.
Gendering my body parts like that is literally the #1 worst thing for my dysphoria and I know others who feel very similarly, I *definitely* wouldn't recommend using that kind of language in generalities 😅
I’ve got two kids but would hate to be defined by uterus capabilities! I spawned them. I hate gender labelling at best (until I was taught that it if someone has specifically chosen it, then it matters).
Addendum: what do we think about female presenting? It's might be the scientist in me, but woman presenting just sounds like Claudia Winkleman or someone.
I've resorted to "woman shaped" before because sometimes even "female presenting" feels slightly wrong especially when talking to a very masculine trans man. And "not women but understands women experience" is a bit too wordy.
Also it's important to be very careful with how you apply "presenting" language in general; is the person/people you're describing really anything-presenting (which suggests agency) or is what you're actually saying that you - (1)
No, I mean they present themselves that way and I'm cool with that. I'm definitely not asking what's in people's underwear. Not my business. And I will ask for pronouns as a guide to how they choose to present themselves.
For sure!! I've just seen all too often that nonbinary people get called male/female/whatever adjectives-presenting when what the person speaking actually means is "they look like that to me" 💀💀💀💀💀
Yeah, don't like that, probably because I'm not very feminine myself and nor are a lot of my friends. It's tricksy and I suspect we can't please all the people all of the time.
I'm happy for people to tell me that's what they personally prefer and I'll do my utmost to use it for them though.
Just fyi, a lot of veterans including myself refer to the opposite sex as “female”, I’m not saying it’s a good habit, but good people do still have the habit. I urge you to use context when determining whether you should trust a male or not 😭🙏
Yeah, it's become like the word "ephebephile". It's a term that in the proper contexts makes sense to use (an academic discussion of the pathology of those who commit CSA, for example) but outside of that is really fucking suspect.
It's also used by military people because a lot of the regulations are written to say male/female instead of man/woman. Usually it's not used in a derogatory way but they absolutely did call us "female" (and "sweetheart") to get under our skin in boot camp.
But still not the same as "females". Using male and female outside of science papers feels a bit weird. Only using females and never males is absolutely meant to dehumanise.
She's already decided that only a binary reality is possible, "female" being used in a scientific context or "female" being used to dehumanize and objectify, despite the fact that other contexts do exist. That's why other contexts are "irrelevant". Context means you have to read for comprehension.
It’s always “men” and “females” because whether they are consciously aware or not, they’re saying one is a person and one is a set of genitals/reproductive organs 🙃
Clearly they don’t care about truth. Just their own feelings. Male and female are extremely common terminology in the military. They are not offensive and should be used.
I didn't see it as a matter of truth, just an oddly combative comment in a thread about use of the word female outside of the scientific community vs. how it's used in the "manosphere".
There is one podcast I listen to that uses it in a regular segment and I have such a kneejerk reaction to it that I have to actively remind themselves they are literally discussing statistics and also using “males” and never use it for anything other than discussing populations.
Educate me a little. Why is that word offensive or at least disfavored? Not being sarcastic (for once) - just truly want to know what about it makes it bad, and as a result, what other things fall into that sphere.
Google it. Plenty of people have already explained why and their work is freely available on the internet. No need to ask Eleanor to do work if you genuinely want to know.
If this is truly the good place - and I hope that it is - I would hope a genuine question would be met with the spirit in which it was asked. I know, given proximity to the armed services, I have used that term before. I certainly meant no offense and want to do better. Understanding is part of that
That's a lot of words that really don't mean anything. Look at the number of replies she has here. She's got better things to do then explain things to you that you can Google and learn yourself in 2 minutes. Learn to understand it that way instead of expecting women to perform this work for you.
I definitely did not- straight from the Google definition! Perhaps, there's a better, more inclusive definition that will fit better such as "and person who defines herself as a woman".
You bet- some women don't mind but it's just always felt icky to me and it doesn't feel like a coincidence to me that Joe Rogan type bros refer to women as females.
You can characterize "joe rogan type bros" but others cant say humans? what about someone who transitioned from not being a Joe Rogan Type Bro to someone who identifies as a Joe Rogan Type Bro?
Unless they acknowledge their contempt and are willing to say it is a problem they have to work on... And agree that they aren't totally safe themselves.
Females are what my wife daughter and doggies are. I did have my dogs surgically altered so maybe they’re just THEY now these because… well, no more testies or ovaries ….
I would ask them, and if they gave me an answer that would make me the dog whisperer. Respect my identity!
HELLO, I did sign up ages ago then neglected my account for about 8 months. Struggling to say anything especially insightful but people are following regardless! Yay!
Female is an adjective, not a noun. It can be used as description, i.e., “female executive.” Using it alone as a noun is dehumanizing, reducing a person to a biological specimen. It’s sad that this has to be explained to some people.
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I only ask because on more than one occasion I've been chewed out for saying "women" or "woman"
https://www.americanprogressaction.org/press/release-134-rape-induced-pregnancies-occur-daily-in-trump-total-abortion-ban-states/
“A 29 year old female reports discomfort over her epigastric area when eating greasy meals” for example.
that’s just odd.
If the answer is yes, then best of luck on your electronics project! 🔌
Though your comment section is gonna be good to find some MAGA chuds to block lol.
- Male Privilege
My bits have never worked for pregnancy, but they do require occasional anatomy-specific care.
Also it's important to be very careful with how you apply "presenting" language in general; is the person/people you're describing really anything-presenting (which suggests agency) or is what you're actually saying that you - (1)
I'm happy for people to tell me that's what they personally prefer and I'll do my utmost to use it for them though.
And, for the record, in case anyone is confused, that ain't good.
I say males when talking about male gamers who are toxic towards women and girl gamers, as men don't do that.
But I also sometimes say female gamers, as gamer girl is grim when describing a woman, & I don't wanna exclude younger gamers.
Do something. Lol.
TROGDOOOOR!!
“The suspect is an adult male.”
No idea if it’s an adult male human, dog or squirrel. They leave that up to our imagination.
Saying "im going to goon out to some woman skins from fortnite" just doesnt hit 🙏
One of them was male and the other two,
Well, the other two were FEMALES…
And furthermore, Susan, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to learn that all four of them habitually smoked marijuana cigarettes,
Reefers!
Female is an adjective
(Female attorney > woman attorney)
Woman is a noun
Using it as a noun is always a red flag, to put it mildly.
~50% of replies reference Star Trek's "subtext is for cowards" patriarchal capitalism stereotype.
Math checks out.
But, generally, more often than not, AGREE.
I would ask them, and if they gave me an answer that would make me the dog whisperer. Respect my identity!
Alphabetically, it makes sense to me.
Not everyone thinks that hopefully, but it's the vibe it gives off. At least that's what I think when people say it.
Like friendship is a punishment.
"I wanted to date her but she put me in the friend zone."
They get to play a victim like something bad happened to *them.*