Because honestly people try to humanize their pet by giving it a name and referring to them as “boy” or “girl”. It’s not applicable to the animal itself.

Realistically nobody calls animals boy or girl in a scientific format. It just isn’t the right term. It’s kind of a lot to keep explaining but the example you used was kinda backwards.

B****es

the argument doesn’t exist for being against calling guys “males” as a noun bc it isn’t common. it’s not about calling women “females” to describe them as women that’s offensive, it’s that using “male” and “female” as nouns are most commonly used to describe wildlife, not humans. plus, factor in the connotation of the term being very commonly used in a derogatory manner as a replacement for “bitch” & you come to realize that women have every reason to be offended when they’re referred to as “females”

I think people are missing the point I was making because this thread has been so combative. I'm not saying female is the term to use or something. I'm just saying that it isn't offensive.

My example with the animals is that a word can be used under different contexts. Girl has become like the word female and can be used to describe things other than humans. It does not make the term offensive or dehumanizing even though it is being used to describe an animal. In the same way, female doesn't suddenly become dehumanizing just because it can also be used to describe an animal.

Even within the scientific community we still refer to animals as girl and boy informally. I am a researcher and anytime I'm talking to my supervisor or colleagues about the amount of mice I have left I always use the terms girl and boy. If I was going to publish a paper or something then yes I would use female but again that doesn't make it offensive to use.

It is the wrong word to use in my opinion it just isn't offensive.

you’re wrong on that first paragraph alone though & i haven’t even read the rest. you can’t decide whether or not something is offensive unless it’s directed towards you. if you are not the recipient of the word’s intent, you have no room to say it isn’t offensive

Fair enough. I am not close minded to the idea of female being offensive. I just want to understand why. So far there hasn't been a clear answer.

So first it can’t really be said by one person if something is offensive or not. The only way to truly test that is to ask every woman on the planet and see majority. I know from multiple women that they see the term as offensive, so since it deals with them and how they would like to be addressed, I rule that is is offensive to refer to women as females in any area not denoted by science.

Once again girl and boy are NOT in any way applicable in science. Those are societal terms denoting humans. Period. If someone wants to call an animal a boy or a girl they are being “cutesy” or some s*** with the animal, and that’s ok. But you’re trying to argue a frankly self centered and subjective point. It’s not really even a debate here with you tbh. But I respect the discussion.

You also can’t decide whether something is offensive as a general rule with that philosophy. Offence is subjective most of the time, and the pendulum is swinging further towards the side of everything being considered offensive these days to prevent a b**** fit by those who cry over anything.

My previous point about your language always revealing your true thoughts regardless of what you want to say shines so bright right here.

That being said the context it what’s offensive not the word itself. If you say “I love females” or “look at those females over there” that isn’t offensive. Using the word with negative connotations is the problem. /thread

Clearly not /thread yet, bro. You need more xp to level up this stat.

It is for those with common sense. But keep pushing dude.

Yea man I understand where you are coming from. You can look at my post above. I just want to know the reason why. Call it curiosity. Also, where are you from if you don't mind me asking? In Toronto, i've never had a women say that the term female is offensive but I also don't think that term is used in conversation much.

For your point on science tho even when referring to men and women we often use male and female in papers. Male and female are biological terms which is why they are used scientifically but men and women are more societal terms that can be used in biological contexts due to their wide spread use.

I’m working a case study in school about this very topic regarding a civil suit in progress. I’ve successfully won all my case studies thus far. It’s an easy debate topic

Because the world has gotten so radical people see malice in everything. Normally you give people some benefit of doubt but now 1 statement is enough for people to put you in a group they hate. Not dislike, HATE.

It actually is a horrible way of thinking and when i was on social media more it bled into my real life and i was way more of a confrontational and unpleasant person because of it.

I remember when i brought a fan in the summer and it was DOA. I walk back to the store i got it from and because i was on twitter and KTT2 so much i came in there with way more ferocity i should have, assuming theyd accuse me of lying or wouldnt give me any compensation or something. The lady at the counter was super nice and immediately i felt like an a******.

Its not what you say its how you say it, this is apparent in languages like french and japanese where inflection can change the entire meaning of a sentence. and because the internet doesnt have universal inflection system or something, people just assume the worst, or you assume people assume the worst. IRL no one cares if you say it nicely

Literally the last paragraph of this.

Find a way to say “I like b****es a lot and think it’s important to surround myself with good b****es when I can” in such a nice way that no woman would be offended

Now in the same inflection, switch this with female.

Now switch it with women.

Do you see the progression?

Literally not the word being discussed here, strange angle to take. Female is a subjective word with different opinions, b****es is a universally known derogatory term that unfortunately is still used. Weird comparison to make

Not weird in the least. We’re progressing from a once normalized adjective to describe women, to a recently normalized adjective, to what is deemed (and this is important) BY WOMEN to be the most appropriate adjective to describe women.

It’s actually very simple but it requires you to think about it

i think the problem also lies with the connotation of the word “offensive” now

there’s a large group of people who immediately associate the word “offensive” with “snowflake” bc they’ve been conditioned to believe that if you’re offended by anything, you’re soft (these same people, ironically, also usually have a meltdown if you say “happy holidays” instead of “merry christmas”)

but in reality, a term being “offensive” to somebody means that they believe the term is being used to paint them (or someone else) in a bad light or to insult them, and that’s very often actually the case. just bc people used the term before & nobody called them out for it doesn’t mean it wasn’t always offensive to certain people.

and on top of that, if someone tells you a term offends them & you keep using that term, that’s a personal attack on that person bc you know it offends them & you intentionally still use the term.

i’m not using the personal “you” here btw, i mean the general “you”

yes it is though, bc one of the most common arguments women make as to why calling them “females” as a noun is offensive is that a lot of men clearly mean “bitches” when they say “females” & speak it with the exact same intent & inflection. it’s a dog-whistle for misogynists.

To be honest, we could go in circles about this as at the end of the day language is subjective at the best of times. But I do see your point and I would never use a term that others found uncomfortable.

Ngl for most of my life I thought using female was just a black people thing

It wasn’t until last year I learned it was seen as offensive. Kinda opened my eyes