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I can't believe there is a even a thread like this. This is completely ludicrous. Should I be offended the next time some says to me "hey, what's up man"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
Yeah I am surprised too. I've heard it once in real life, and three times now by women in the relationship forum (I forget the exact post/thread).
Umm.... you're surprised there is a thread like this? Um... didn't YOU start this thread?
And hearing something once in real life and 3 times by women here doesn't really make something a "thing."
Most of the female posters on this board don't see it as offensive. A couple posters have a problem with it grammatically but it seems to be more of an irritation thing than an offended thing.
By making a thread about it - you have made it into a big deal although the majority of us don't think it is one.
Hmmmm, I'm not necessarily offended but not really OK with it either.
For one thing, it's like pointing out the obvious, biologically, so what's the point? It feels like more of a reference to my plumbing than my gender. So, it's more appropriate for scientific conversation than social talk.
Also, I have never really heard it used in way that was not, somehow, negative. It is, usually, used by men that have a narrow or negative view of women. I actually have a dear male friend who respects women, but he has a narrow, stereotypical view of both men and women. He doesn't mean to offend, but it's not flattering, so there you have it.
I don't refer to men as males. I don't refer to women as females. It's man/men or woman/women.
9 pages and still going. I guess it does mean something to females or however you want to call the gender.
Did you see the poll results? 75% of us don't ever see it as offensive. That's a huge majority. The fact that it goes on for 9 pages doesn't reflect what a big deal it is. Honestly - for me - I've never heard anyone use it in an offensive way so I find it curious that it would ever be viewed as offensive. Then again - the people in my social circle aren't misogynists. Maybe that makes a difference.
I think it's a matter of context. Saying, "The research study had 7 subjects, 4 females and 3 males," is obviously not offensive. But when I think of someone using the word "female" instead of "woman", my mind automatically goes to a Maury-Povich-esqe negative statement being made by a woman about another woman, for example, "These females keep getting on my nerves, trying to mess with my man!" This is why I don't like when people use "females" instead of "women"; it sounds ignorant. That's generally how I have heard the word used, though obviously the experiences of others will vary, and those experiences will influence our perception. Using male and female to describe a person has no negative connotation, but I don't think that's what people who take offense to the word are referring to.
The short version: "female" sounds low class! (For those of you having a TL;DR moment )
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Yes it doesn't seem to be a problem. Thankfully most women are not offended by it. I assume those who are are also offended by the term 'male' being thrown around. I just want people to acknowledge the latter is used far more often negatively with the suggestion of all the negative qualities of being male - being aggressive, ignorant, boorish, obsessed with sex, insensitive, etc.
Female is usually attached to something positive. Female intuition, a female touch, a female point of view.
Yes it doesn't seem to be a problem. Thankfully most women are not offended by it. I assume those who are are also offended by the term 'male' being thrown around. I just want people to acknowledge the latter is used far more often negatively with the suggestion of all the negative qualities of being male - being aggressive, ignorant, boorish, obsessed with sex, insensitive, etc.
Female is usually attached to something positive. Female intuition, a female touch, a female point of view.
However, 'female literature = books written by women, from their point of view, that only women can be remotely interested in' versus 'literature = books (mostly written by men strictly from their very masculine point of view) that have universal appeal and everybody should read'.
I've never experienced either offense from just the notion of female or male as words.
Then again, I rarely hear people I know call women "females" and men "males".
I'd agree that people say that when they want to sound technical or scientific, but it's something I'd see in a report or article, not in real life.
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
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I really don't get what people are saying in this thread. The terms male and female have no emotional load for me whatsoever, they're a detached, rational way of talking about the gender of any mammalian species.
"Men" and "women" have a bit of an emotional sense attached to them, which can range from positive to negative depending on context. I'm sure we've all heard women saying "Men!" in an exasperated tone of voice as a prelude to complaints, or sometimes approvingly with a little purr ...... and we've all heard guys saying "women" with a little snicker or perhaps a leer across the room.
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on this board don't see it as offensive. A couple posters have a problem with it grammatically but it seems to be more of an irritation thing than an offended thing. 
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