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Is "female" offensive? (lemmy.world)

submitted 8 months ago by Trincapinones@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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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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[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 8 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

Others in this thread will tell you it's only acceptable as an adjective or for animals. That's not true. Here are some non-adjective uses that most people wouldn't consider misogynistic on the surface:

A female changing room (noun adjunct)
Female-only spaces. (noun)
Sorry, this shelter is only for females. (noun)
This procedure is not recommended for females. (noun)
Only females are eligible for this award. (noun)
"Is the person you're going out with tonight a male or a female?" (noun, my mom said this)
"A male character has no stats difference compared to a female." (Probably an adjective but arguably not)

That said, "I am a single man looking for a female" is pretty gross usage. Also, please note that some of these examples may be transphobic in nature.

[–] triplenadir@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

the only examples here which don't sound completely gross are the ones where you misunderstood the part of speech..

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

which ones did I misunderstand the part of speech?

"female-only" is an adjective phrase where "female" is a noun. Compare "lion-only zoo." Adjectives don't work here (× big-only zoo)

[–] triplenadir@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

A female changing room (noun adjunct)

Noun adjunct is a noun functioning as an adjective.

“A male character has no stats difference compared to a female.” (Probably an adjective but arguably not)

"female [character]" definitely an adjective

“female-only” is an adjective phrase where “female” is a noun. Compare “lion-only zoo.” Adjectives don’t work here (× big-only zoo)

Yes "female-only" sounds gross.

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 0 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

A noun adjunct is a noun functioning as an adjective. By contrast, in "a female scientist," female is an adjective and not a noun adjunct.

To me, "female-only spaces" sounds like conventional English and I much prefer it to "woman-only" which sounds gross to me. Google NGrams agrees.

I agree with you regarding the character example.

[–] weew@lemmy.ca 5 points 8 months ago

I just went to a Women's Day film festival where females were talking about females while using the word "female" all day.

I'm pretty sure people are way overreacting to it. In the end it's just context and tone. "Women" can be just as derogatory depending on how you say it.