3 ms·

Right but the use of men by women is almost always negative and dehumanizing. "ugh..men" "men are always..." the only positive connotation I can think of is "no

Right but the use of men by women is almost always negative and dehumanizing. "ugh..men" "men are always..." the only positive connotation I can think of is "now that's a man" but that's slightly different in the singular use and by implication it infers most men don't qualify as a "man"... in any case let's not read too much into the sarcastic tone of the post. if you're looking for something to upset you, I guarantee you'll find it.

rayiner 13y ago
> Right but the use of men by women is almost always negative and dehumanizing. Since when? All the women I know use "man" or "men" (or informally, "guy"), correctly when referring to a male member of the human species. My wife might say: "my supervisor on this matter is a man." A disproportionate number of men I know incorrectly use "female" when they mean "woman." E.g. one might say "my new boss is female."
- selmnoo 13y ago
  But that's in your circle of friends. Grand parent's circle of friends -- and culture -- is different from yours and uses word with slightly different connotations. Which brings us back to square one: the use of the word "female" is not dehumanizing in most contexts to a large number of people. I really think 'mynewwork is onto something about why the word "male" is more dehumanizing than the word "female": > There is no female analog to 'guys'. Males under age 18 -> boys. Males 18-35 -> guys. Males over 35 -> men. There isn't an obvious alternative to the word "female", as calling a, uhm, "female" of younger age a "woman" can potentially be awkward, so referring to her as a female is simply the next best option. I suspect that it's because of this reality that the word "female" is increasingly more accepted as a safe and normal pronoun.
chilldream 13y ago
> Right but the use of men by women is almost always negative and dehumanizing. I'm 30 and I haven't seen this be the case anywhere ever. I have encountered some people who condescendingly use "boys" when they want to disparage adult men. It's always bugged me even when I was a teenager, although for some reason all the gay men I know use it. I think a similar dynamic exists with women and "girls". I find myself using "female" occasionally, not to refer to women I would date but because English doesn't have another good word for "feminine humans of an indeterminate age". I occasionally use "chicks" for similar reasons.

rayiner 13y ago

> Right but the use of men by women is almost always negative and dehumanizing. Since when? All the women I know use "man" or "men" (or informally, "guy"), correctly when referring to a male member of the human species. My wife might say: "my supervisor on this matter is a man." A disproportionate number of men I know incorrectly use "female" when they mean "woman." E.g. one might say "my new boss is female."

selmnoo 13y ago
But that's in your circle of friends. Grand parent's circle of friends -- and culture -- is different from yours and uses word with slightly different connotations. Which brings us back to square one: the use of the word "female" is not dehumanizing in most contexts to a large number of people. I really think 'mynewwork is onto something about why the word "male" is more dehumanizing than the word "female": > There is no female analog to 'guys'. Males under age 18 -> boys. Males 18-35 -> guys. Males over 35 -> men. There isn't an obvious alternative to the word "female", as calling a, uhm, "female" of younger age a "woman" can potentially be awkward, so referring to her as a female is simply the next best option. I suspect that it's because of this reality that the word "female" is increasingly more accepted as a safe and normal pronoun.

chilldream 13y ago

> Right but the use of men by women is almost always negative and dehumanizing. I'm 30 and I haven't seen this be the case anywhere ever. I have encountered some people who condescendingly use "boys" when they want to disparage adult men. It's always bugged me even when I was a teenager, although for some reason all the gay men I know use it. I think a similar dynamic exists with women and "girls". I find myself using "female" occasionally, not to refer to women I would date but because English doesn't have another good word for "feminine humans of an indeterminate age". I occasionally use "chicks" for similar reasons.