to think the term lionesses is sexist

[greenlloon]

or at least its odd as we dont call the men lions we call them england we should call the women England but also adding an ess to a noun an be considered sexist by many. it has just struck me as odd.

teams have nicknames used to varying degrees but the lionesses is used all the time and its also used for individual players call them lionesses ive never heard an individual male player called a lion
What revisionist stuff is this, there is a reason why one of the anthems is three lions yes three lions not lions big difference

Op, the England (men) supporters club was probably set up & named before we had an England women’s team, the first women’s WC was only in 1991

The womens/ladies game needs all the marketing help it can get. If having a nickname helps then why not?

Sing it with me........

Three lions on the shirt........
Jules Rimet still gleaming....

Nothing sexist about it whatsoever.

YANBU!! This annoys the hell out of me too...it's just so irritating to hear them constantly referred to as lionesses rather than footballers or just England.

Yes The 'anthem' 3 lions was written in the 90's as a jaunty pop song for Euro 96

it references the 3 lions on England's SHIRTS not the teams nickname - and they where not 'three lions' before then

maybe some young folk have taken it as a nick name but old buggers like me haven't really seen it used to describe the whole team (of 11 players)

if three lions and lioness are really the same why didnt the fa call their supporter club the three lions supporter club?

"Lionesses" is sexist in the same way that "Baa Baa Black Sheep" is racist.

The men’s supporters club was definitely set up before the song in 1996, that’s why it’s not called Lions.

Unofficial Women's WC in Mexico 1971 - England had a full team

I don’t think anyone is saying it never happens but it’s not as common IME

Oh pass errm maybe read your own post because you literally said No one says “the 3 lions are playing tonight sooooooo well done on contradicting your own post

And in my and pretty much everyone elses expreince it is very very common

Tbh i'm not sure why im bothing i'm an ireland fan so you can call them what the hell you like

But no its still not sexist

Part of it is also branding, you need a unique brand to make you stand out in order to be marketed and have brand recognition in the public consciousness. Having their own separate name allows this and means they can use it to make more marketable and so popular, have a strong SEO etc. It would be harder to have that identity and brand if they were called the same as the men’s team.

If there was an international male netball team they would be referred to as the men's team. ALL THE TIME (Incidentally our team is 'The Vitality Roses' so I'd love to know what they would call the men LOL)
Football has (fairly or unfairly) traditionally been a men's game, it is inevitable that for a few years at least female teams will be referred to as such - until such time when it becomes more like tennis which are NOW nearly always referred to as men's or women's (I can remember a time when it was tennis or women's tennis - the default was definitely male)

ah maybe that's where the song got it's inspiration - but it refers to the SHIRT - calling a team of 11 players 3 anything makes no sense at all!

Quick, get yourself outside. There's grass growing and you ought to watch it.

Three lions on their shirts is just a song. They’re hardly going to sing
“england team
Jules Rimet still gleaming
Thirty years of hurt,
Never stopped me dreaming”

Are they?

Utter bollocks. It's nothing but positive what we're seeing here actually, so hang your head in shame.

@Passthecherrycoke

I agree with you OP.

Although what’s worse is them constantly being called girls...

All the LOLz!

Most of us girls on mumsnet here tonight disagree with you and the OP.

Um...when the three lions song first came out I thought it was three lines on a shirt. I am Scottish though so do have some excuse!

Football has (fairly or unfairly) traditionally been a men's game, it is inevitable that for a few years at least female teams will be referred to as such - until such time when it becomes more like tennis which are NOW nearly always referred to as men's or women's (I can remember a time when it was tennis or women's tennis - the default was definitely male)
Correcting myself - there was 'tennis' and there was 'lady's tennis' Now THAT was sexist

It's just branding, OP and good branding in my opinion. It presents the image of strong proud females. Branding and marketing are very important in sport.
Adding the -ess to the word isn't sexist in this case, because it's a way of distinguishing between the male and female lion. Like man/woman, cow/bull, cock/hen, etc etc.

Football teams have always had nicknames - mostly derivatives of animals, but not always. Some clubs - Spurs is a good example - are called their nickname more than their full-name. Other clubs - Norwich for example - are probably referred to as Norwich / Canaries, 50%/50%

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_football_club_nicknames_in_the_United_Kingdom

They ARE England Women's Football Team but their nickname is Lionesses and it's just a lot less syllables. I honestly think it's a simple as that.

Quick, get yourself outside. There's grass growing and you ought to watch it. confusedhmm whats this meat to mean?

That's it .The world has gone completely bonkers if we're supposed to be offended by our women's football team being called lionesses.

Most of us girls on mumsnet here tonight disagree with you and the OP

No they wouldn’t unless they’re 14. What grown woman wants to be referred to as “girls”?