I'd say it's a tone and context sorta thing.
this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2024
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One place where it makes sense to use the word female as a noun is when an individual word like "woman" doesn't work. For instance, if there are girls and women together, neither "women" nor "girls" is appropriate. In that case, I think "female" is the only option. I'd be happy to hear if anyone has an alternative.
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Anything can be offensive in the corresponding context.
I mean, I didn't know "orange" could be offensive, but then Trump showed up.
Saying 'female' to refer to a person who is female can sound overly technical or abstracted, and therefore a bit dehumanizing or depersonalizing.
That said, some people over-react, and sometimes it is more appropriate or at least fine to say 'female', for example if you were speaking in the abstract about something that spans between women and girls, or is specifically about biological sex.
But most of the time 'women' or 'girls' or even 'ladies' is going to be more appropriate.
What language are you coming from, out of curiosity?
It's dehumanizing. Use woman, girl, person.
Everything is offensive to someone.