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Man who calls women "females" hopes to one day be allowed within 500 meters of one (chaser.com.au)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

In addition to what the other reply to you said, I was talking specifically about “female” as a noun.

“females like xyz” and so on.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That's true, but the OP's and my experience is that the adjectival use, like "woman doctor," was pejorative. I associate it with Greatest and Silent Generation relatives. We changed to say "female doctor," as it sounded more neutral.

Now, there's a movement back, and lots of younger folks now say that the latter is demeaning, and that "woman doctor" is the respectful phrasing. I know it's essentially arbitrary, and defined by usage, it's just interesting to see the evolution.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

IMHO fine:

female doctor
woman who is a doctor

IMHO weird:

woman doctor
a female who is a doctor

So it's not a reversal. Using “woman” like an adjective is still weird!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I'm with you, but I've been reading online that "woman doctor" is now the preferred form.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I see, that is strange!