When did we start referring to human women as "females"?
- Thread starter The Father
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azulsombra
Pelican
dispenser said:
This.
It has (along with male of course) always struck me as a very strange word to use about humans in casual conversation - and it's not that long ago since it gained more common use around the internet, is it?
Sounds out of place to me (though I almost exclusively see it in writing since I'm rarely around native English speakers) unless you're discussing biology or medicine or some other academic topic where the word might be relevant.
If a particular human female isn't worthy of the term woman or girl, then just call her a bitch or a psycho or a retard or whatever label is appropriate.
Sounds out of place to me (though I almost exclusively see it in writing since I'm rarely around native English speakers) unless you're discussing biology or medicine or some other academic topic where the word might be relevant.
If a particular human female isn't worthy of the term woman or girl, then just call her a bitch or a psycho or a retard or whatever label is appropriate.
When did we start referring to human women as "females"?
When they stopped being ladies.
When they stopped being ladies.
The confusion most likely, in my mind, stems from the lack of structural class/caste systems. Lady, for example, was previously used in a very specific context. The terminology is also in disarray because virginity is no longer a promoted prerequisite for marriage. One might refer to a woman before marriage as 'girlish' or a 'maidenly' (going way back). One can see the same pattern with males. Rarely will one hear a respected patriarch called sir in modernity--the exception being in the southern states. Ultimately, it is a lack of respect stemming from the breakdown of the family and general social order.
The lack of respect in some ways is bred by familiarity. One need not go in depth on this forum about the need to have distance/mystery between man and woman. This familiarity, it seems to me, is caused by a disconnection from survival instincts. The shock of seeing another human being on a hunt is no longer there. The subtle nature of a wandering traveler has no precedent of danger. The barrier between raw experience. The dislocation of action from mortal consequence. The necessity of indirect and mediated exposure to ignore uncomfortable truths.
The lack of respect in some ways is bred by familiarity. One need not go in depth on this forum about the need to have distance/mystery between man and woman. This familiarity, it seems to me, is caused by a disconnection from survival instincts. The shock of seeing another human being on a hunt is no longer there. The subtle nature of a wandering traveler has no precedent of danger. The barrier between raw experience. The dislocation of action from mortal consequence. The necessity of indirect and mediated exposure to ignore uncomfortable truths.
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