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Original poster

Words the world would be better off without

70 replies

whoputthecatout · 09/05/2017 10:26

Just that really.

I'll start us off....

Feisty - used almost exclusively to describe any female that is not a doormat;
Empowerment/empowering - often misused to describe females who contort themselves round poles or strip off for blokes;
Sex positive - misused to describe females who think being up for anything with anyone is somehow in any way positive;
Gender - do I really have to explain why?

What words would posters send to room 101?

OP posts:
Original poster
whoputthecatout · 09/05/2017 14:00

How about "the world and his wife" . So, human being + appendage.

OP posts:
SenecaFalls · 09/05/2017 13:59

I disagree that the world would be better off without the words "empowerment/empowering." These are important concepts for feminism and especially for survivors of violence against women. Just because others have trivialized the words doesn't mean we should toss them out.

I agree that "victim" should have not have the negative connotations that we as society have allowed it to assume. There should be no shame in being a victim and to use the word as an insult can be really harmful and is the ultimate in victim-blaming.

clumsyduck · 09/05/2017 13:37

"Hubby" and when women refer to said hubby as "my man" bleugggh you don't own him .

"Yummy mummy " just no

"Girlies" like "out with my girlies , what a fab night " fuck off your 35

GuardianLions · 09/05/2017 13:35

I love the idea of being cuntless as an insult! Brilliant.... ha ha the more I think about it, the more I like it.... just has such nuance ..
"cuntless fool"...
ha ha ha

YetAnotherSpartacus · 09/05/2017 13:32

Not really on topic but I once heard the expression 'fucking cuntless wonder'. I used it once when a man propositioned me (I was outside a library minding my own business) and he suggested I might like to fuck him. I said "I would not fuck you if you were the last man on Earth you fucking cuntless wonder".

Motherknowsbest84 · 09/05/2017 13:27

Wench

Original poster
whoputthecatout · 09/05/2017 13:24

Oh yes, 'vanilla' in reference to sex: implies that if you are not doing it up the arse, hanging from a chandelier you are 'boring' or 'prudish'.

OP posts:
Original poster
whoputthecatout · 09/05/2017 13:21

Housewife: yet to see anyone married to a house.

Hubby: pass the sick bucket. The tweeness of it.

OP posts:
DJBaggySmalls · 09/05/2017 12:53

Whore, hoe, slut, slag, any variation.

Lancelottie · 09/05/2017 12:49

Shrill
Strident

(except when used to describe toddlers demanding a biscuit)

GuardianLions · 09/05/2017 12:45

Blonde (or brunette) as a word to describe a person or behaviour rather than just the hair colour.

GuardianLions · 09/05/2017 12:43

urgh 'modest' - the word has grubby male patriarchal hands all over it.

AspasiaFitzgibbon · 09/05/2017 12:11

So glad I'm not the only one to hate modest.
Grazia had a fashion piece last week about 'the new modest dressing' and I wanted to heave.

LesLiaisonsDangereuses · 09/05/2017 12:05

I like "cunt" being the most powerful swear word. I would be loathe to see the word banned.

bialystockandbloom · 09/05/2017 12:04

"Opinionated" = woman who has a view and says it.

Motherknowsbest84 · 09/05/2017 12:02

Yes trigger and modest!!
I absolutely hate it when a woman has an opinion and we get told we've been triggered!
WTH!

Pleasedontbelikeme · 09/05/2017 12:00

Guardian yeah, 'real' too... but less so for some reason

KroplaBeskidu · 09/05/2017 11:59

I hate the concept of "domestic violence" as I think it connotes something private... (done in private and best dealt with in private) and also that it's somehow women's problem (we of the domestic sphere).

I prefer just "violence" or "assault".

But I do understand the arguments on the other side (i.e. highlighting that the family can be an incredibly dangerous place for women)

Faceicle · 09/05/2017 11:56

I have a theory about cunt. It's a word I dislike in concept (ffs the word for the worst thing ever is the word for lady part! Welcome to patriarchy folks!) but I like it in use, so as an object if you will. It's non gendered in its use as a perjorative term, and that is a good thing.

KroplaBeskidu · 09/05/2017 11:55

I'm going to be controversial here but...

Husband and wife.

To me they carry too many connotations of power and inequality and have very particular role expectations attached to them.
I always refer to my husband as my "partner" because he is, we're in an equal partnership where we don't fulfill the roles traditionally associated with "husband" and "wife".

LeonardoAcropolis · 09/05/2017 11:52

Slag. I hate that word.

KroplaBeskidu · 09/05/2017 11:52

It should be illegal, or at least socially awful, to refer to any woman over the age of 18 as "girl". It should be akin to using the N-word and P-word to describe certain racial groups.

It infantilized women and, in doing so, delegitimizes their participation in adult society.

GuardianLions · 09/05/2017 11:50

Ooh pleasedon't how about "real" like 'real women' blah blah..

GuardianLions · 09/05/2017 11:49

Slightly off topic but miffer I find it interesting that Americans use the word 'dick' where we'd say 'cunt' in the UK. In the UK 'dick' has a connotation of foolishness, but in the US it has a more actively obnoxious/antisocial connotation...

Pleasedontbelikeme · 09/05/2017 11:48

Slightly left field, but my bugbear is 'Natural', to imply that something is healthy and wholesome. Cyanide is natural, as are botulism, HIV, ebola, tsunamis etc....