Referring to women as 'females'

[Zoraxe 546]

I don't know how long this has been going on for but it seems odd to me that people refer to women/girls as females a bunch now-a-days. I don't know it just seems a little too 'biological', ya know?

 

Why not just refer to people as their chromosomes then? "'Sup XY chromosome acquaintances, so yesterday I was talking to this XX chromosome and we had a fine conversation"

Edited July 26, 2014 by Zoraxe

[Mlpfan185 1,763]

Something was here. Something was here. Something was here. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by NONAME

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

 

 

calling men double-x,

 

Biology is rolling in its grave.

[Mlpfan185 1,763]

Something was here. Something was here. Something was here. Something was here. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by NONAME

[Fractured 2,683]

Depends on context. I refer to my female friends and family as "woman", but I would never say that to my boss. It really depends on who you're talking to.

[Malinter 3,064]

Calling them 'female' is looking at them objectively. Calling them 'girls' views them as young or not matured (from your perspective). Calling them 'women' views them as older or mature (from your own perspective).

 

How positive/negative each term is is largely dependant on whom is saying it and to whom you are saying it too. Enjoy the minefield.

[Horsy 193]

I use "female" because I am always confused with spelling "women" or "woman" correctly. Also, I don't see anything wrong with it anyway. 

[babymoondust 223]

Oh gosh my boyfriend has brought this up before! He said it's usually guys who are something like.. socially awkward or not "used" to women being around them, who usually call women "females" rather than anything else, lol. I thought he's probably not 100% right about that, but I myself have noticed it and it certainly has a stereotype attached to it now for me. (Not that there is anything wrong with being socially awkward or not used to women). 

[Sunny Fox 5,929]

I use "female" because I am always confused with spelling "women" or "woman" correctly. Also, I don't see anything wrong with it anyway. 

Try remembering it as "a woman, ten women".

 

I think calling a woman "female" to her face can be a bit blunt, even if technically correct.

[UCD 75]

Hoo boy this is me.

 

Now I will never call a female "female" when I am speaking to her.

 

But just as I did above, if I am just talking about a girl/woman I will say "female".

 

Ex.

Male Friend: So what did you do yesterday while you were off?

Me: I went and saw a movie with this female.

 

Ex. 2

Female Friend: Ha! Fatality mothabucker

Me: You're pretty good at games for a girl

 

But really no matter what you refer to a gender as, they will generally find it offensive.

 

Find a large male who is built like a grizzly and call him a boy. See how angry he gets.

[Horsy 193]

Try remembering it as "a woman, ten women".

 

I think calling a woman "female" to her face can be a bit blunt, even if technically correct.

I don't know what type of a conversation will involve someone calling a girl female. I am not from an English speaking country anyway so I am not sure but it seems weird. "Sup female?" I have never used female that way.

[Dovashy 1,734]

 

I've never heard anyone use the word "Female" instead of "Woman" in a social setting before, the only times I've ever heard it is if it was related to biology, or factual in some way. 

 

It sounds strange as a replacement, "Look at those females over there," or "Who was that female you were just talking to?" 

Definitely doesn't sound right in everyday conversation. 

[UCD 75]

It sounds strange as a replacement, "Look at those females over there," or "Who was that female you were just talking to?" 

Definitely doesn't sound right in everyday conversation. 

That's interesting to me since I come from a "bad neighborhood". It was an urban setting. Imagine a Waka Flocka video. These type of people use "female" to refer to women/girls. I was brought up around them, so I kinda adopted the slang. It was everyday conversation in my hometown. To me it is an improvement though since they are at least not using the other word for female (the one that starts with "B")

Edited July 26, 2014 by UCD

[Dovashy 1,734]

That's interesting to me since I come from a "bad neighborhood". It was an urban setting. Imagine a Waka Flocka video. These type of people use "female" to refer to women/girls. I was brought up around them, so I kinda adopted the slang. It was everyday conversation in my hometown. To me it is an improvement though since they are at least not using the other word for female (the one that starts with "B")

Yeah, I really feel like this is terminology which differs a lot between areas. Younger guys generally call girls "chicks". Where as women are just referred to as women, from what I've experienced anyway. 

[UCD 75]

Yeah, I really feel like this is terminology which differs a lot between areas. Younger guys generally call girls "chicks". Where as women are just referred to as women, from what I've experienced anyway. 

It's pretty crazy to think about. Even just moving to a different city in the same state I noticed that people talk a lot different here. Funny how your environment can affect your vocabulary like that

[Invincible 2,090]

I think it really depends on which context a word is used. 

[Luna 831 465]

How is calling a woman a female bad.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Luna 831

[Clover Heart 978]

I think it depends on what you're talking about. I think if it is biological, I think using the term female is more accurate. Because not all women are female and not all females are women. I'm female. I'm not a woman. I'm agender. I'd prefer to be called female, because that's factual, as opposed to being called a woman, which is untrue for me. On the opposite end, if you're talking about female bodies, but you say "Women's bodies generally..." it's including trans women as well. And since the above statement is most likely speaking to sexual dimorphism, this doesn't apply to all women so much as it applies to females. So I would say that using "woman" vs. "female" probably boils down to whether you're talking about sex or gender. Furthermore, the term "woman" implies an adult. The term "female" implies having an XX chromosomal pairing. It's not really including kids when you call people "women." "Female," on the other hand, can be inclusive of infant, child, adolescent and adult females. Both terms have their place.

[BronyPony 575]

What's the problem with calling woman "females"? I do it all the time. I also call men "males."

[Sigma 768]

What's the problem with calling woman "females"? I do it all the time. I also call men "males."

 

Ditto, not much else to say.

[Shanks 10,811]

The only time I have heard terms like "female" used a lot are biology classes, I am yet to hear it have any regular usage in everyday conversation especially with people increasingly shortening words and phrases over unnecessarily if you ask me (see text speak).

[Evilshy 5,089]

I say "female friend" when referring to girls who are my friends, but not my girlfriends, because off the difficulty some people having in differentiating "girl friend" (a friend who is a girl) and "girlfriend" (a girl I'm dating). And "female friend" sounds a lot better than "woman friend".

[Thunderlane 550]

Yeah I found it weird too. I tend to say 'babe' or just 'girl'

Edited July 26, 2014 by Thunderlane

[Jennabun 1,578]

I notice that I use "female" when I want to be inclusive of all age groups. For example, I might say, "Female fans of MLP are sometimes called pegasisters," rather than, "Fans of MLP who are women or girls are sometimes called pegasisters." I don't do it to put an emphasis on biology ("female" is often used interchangeably as a gender identity as well as a description of biological sex, anyhow); I do it because "female" just sounds less clunky and awkward in the sentence. Most of the time though, I do make a conscious effort to say "women" or "girls" just because, like the OP indicated, a lot of the time "female" sounds super weird. I find that using it as an adjective ("my female friend") sounds better than using it as a noun ("that female over there") for some reason.

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,090]

This is the stupidest thing I've heard all day.

 

Men get called "males" all the time, I don't see anyone making a fuss over that.

 

Oh gosh my boyfriend has brought this up before! He said it's usually guys who are something like.. socially awkward or not "used" to women being around them, who usually call women "females" rather than anything else, lol. I thought he's probably not 100% right about that, but I myself have noticed it and it certainly has a stereotype attached to it now for me. (Not that there is anything wrong with being socially awkward or not used to women). 

 

Random question, but does your boyfriend go on Reddit a lot?