What is the Worst Thing You Can Call a Woman?

I think the idea that gay men act like women is an outdated stereotype. They are not all John Inman flouncers and 'fairies'. I think many men's gut reaction to gay men is based on the same prejudices as racism -lack of understanding, ignorance and lack of interaction with that group. It is deeper than misogyny.

"Being seen as a lesbian is an insult because any woman that is not under the control of a man is viewed as threatening under patriarchy, which it is. "

Yes and I think it is most used against women who reject male advances or refuse to flirt. It like 'You don't placate men! LESBIAN!', but also against women who are fiercely economically independent and career focused: 'You don't depend on men! LESBIAN!'

That was kind of the point, in parallel with someone's 'butch/lesbian' gibe in an earlier post. Being seen as something other than straight can be pretty damning for either sex. Paedo and/or ginger still seem to be winning though.

Good point, Eats. Proves OP's point.

Calling a bloke a puff/queg/sausage-jockey/gayer can also be insulting, but as with so many things it depends on context. And not a female in sight!

Anyone mentioned 'cunt-rash' yet?

Ginger stepchild is pretty hurtful. But I fear we are undermining Ms Valenti's point with all this japery.

I think there's a bit of confusion going on here. Its not necessarily the insults you throw, but the ones you think in your mind or express to a third party.

Although I openly express a number of swearwords, if someone had really wronged me, or showed callousness to a sociopathic degree to anyone I know the only word to fit such hatred, for me, would be 'c*nt'. And that shows the level of misogyny I've internalised.

But of course to frighten or shame someone using insults the 'mud sticks' aspect of pedo or very personalised ones are the most hurtful.

burlington, her daddy is rich, insofar as every time she needs a filling phones daddy and he pays for a white one... her papa has worked very hard since a boy to build up his business, and when i first started going with her dad he worked nighshift 5 nights a week for £40, but now they have a really successful business she expects to step right in, but I know her dad will make her work for it, shes a good girl really but sees her papa as an idol, someone who started off in 1977 with one lorry and now has a fleet for his manufacturing business, they had to hire their first "black" worker this year so as not to appear discriminatory, she is like well papa worked up from nothing why can't everyone else...in a few ways she is mature and streetwise in other ways she is such a child it scares me...but she is very racist and totally against welfare in any form, she told me that all disabled people should be shot because they are a drain on society, how the fuck do you deal with that? I dont think she was being funny i think she actually believes that ok she is only 16 and has a lot to learn, im like what about my friends son who has a cancer, she cant work cos is her sons carer, she is like tough, such a nazi attitude she told me that hitler was right, there should only be one race. I said well then it would be chinese, therse more of them, are you willing to die so chinese can take over the world, she actually said YES, if they are the best race most likely to survive then they should... i gave up and drank no getting through to her...

Someone called me 'stumpy' once which is horrible whether you're male or female, surely? I can't believe people get that upset about the ludicrous swear words- it's the more personal nature of the insult that hurts. You might have more effect by making a nasty comment about somebody's family/parents.

I've called a few blokes cunts before now but never (as far as I'm aware) called a woman one.

Someone once described me as 'butch' when I was at Uni & I was gutted

Your! your victim!

I didn't say it bugged me! (ok well only when it is used as part of my RL name...)

I agree with garlicnuts, it depends on our victim!

OK, I can see Valenti's point and have sometimes thought the same thing myself. But with a bit more thought, and as so colourfully illustrated by other posts here (not the ones about the welfare state ), the insults she cited aren't the worst, by far. Anyway, you need to pick your insult to wound your chosen victim - not just their gender. Being called 'mannish' doesn't bother me at all, but it evidently bothers monsterchild.

My mum was doing a visit with a colleague and the client called her colleague "a ginger paedophile" mum said all she heard for the rest of the day was "I'm not ginger!"

Nooo! Poodles are quite sassy. ime.

Especially if the dog in question is a poodle. God knows why, maybe fucking a rottweiler has too much warped street cred associated with it for it to be quite as offensive.

'Dog fucker'... goes down like a cup of cold sick at dinner parties.

This is becoming a very strange thread.

Cunting fister of chickens is offensive to both genders I believe.

not sure what the point of the thread is.

For most people, I suspect the general/worst insult for a bloke would be 'fucking tosser', as it covers most aspects of the 'fucking tosser's' life, rather than focussing on the female. I think the 'female' angle (if that's the point of the thread - to feel got at) is fairly irrelevant.

OMFG - I think you're allowed to be naive at 16
Although you could point out that the welfare state also includes the NHS and she wouldn't like to have to pay for having her leg put in a plaster cast if she broke it, which is what would happen in America if she didn't have expensive insurance. Also that in America people who survive cancer often end up bankrupt from having to pay for treatment.
And also that disability living allowance is very important, and anyone can become disabled just from catching a virus or being hit by a drunk driver going through a red light.

The worst thing to call a woman is "mannish", or compare her to a man. that's what I was thinking when I saw the headline.

For a guy it's a pig.