this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2024
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I am not a native English speaker and I have sometimes referred to people as male and female (as that is what I have been taught) but I have received some backlash in some cases, especially for the word "female", is there some negative thought in the word which I am unaware of?

I don't know if this is the best place to ask, if it's not appropriate I have no problem to delete it ^^

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[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

My daughter can be pretty offensive. Quite the potty mouth for an 8 year old.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

How about: "The weaker sex" instead?

[โ€“] dudinax 1 points 8 months ago

How about "the fairer sex"?

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Let me break down the explanations given, because most of them boil down to this:

As a noun, yes, because it's mainly used in biology like that ("A hawk female") and thus can come off as dehumanizing. As an adjective: No ("A female cashier", "A male cashier")

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

The basic rule of thumb is that anyone who gets upset with you using the word female isn't worth your time. If they're really going to get upset about you using the word female then they're probably going to get upset about a lot of other trivial things as well and that's not the sort of negativity and bitterness you want in your life.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I've switched to Lady for a lot of descriptors that I used to use Female. And a lot more They. Or just a physical description, like the person with the dark hair.

Edit: I'm probably trying harder than I need to. I just want to accommodate people.

[โ€“] spikespaz 1 points 8 months ago

Friend, people will get offended by anything and everything. Didn't worry about it. You just be you.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

People that say 'females' out loud in public are quickly assumed to never get laid. It's okay to use when talking or writing about science topics and such.

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