'Females.'

[Toenailz]

Anyone else cringe when people refer to women as 'females' in the context of completely casual conversation? And also wonder where the fuck it started and why it's become so popular?

Usually utilised by men referring to women as 'females' and, on here, usually by scorned women referring to another woman that their DH is being in some way inappropriate with, as 'another female' or 'a female'.

Yeah yeah, the correct biological terms and all, but can't help feeling this has a rather sexist connotation to reduce women to less, as usual?

Yes I agree, hate this misogynistic term. It reduces women to their sex, rather than seeing them as a person.

I get exactly why you mean. It’s like women are being reduced to as a biological specimen. Examined i der a microscope as another species. My FIL uses the term and it creeps me out. Probably ireational but ot just feels wrong.

My dad, who would be 80 if he were still alive used to use this term.

Not sure I like it.

It’s dehumanising, I’ve always hated it and if mentioned, you just get the eye roll. Female could be anything- animal, bird etc

I would rather this than 'girls' and why is it different to 'women'?

Agree- sounds like it should be followed with "..of the species" being discussed by evil scientists conducting experiments with utter disgust.

I get what you’re saying about it being rather creepy when men use it in casual conversation, somehow it feels objectifying. But I use females a lot in writing reports just to be specific that I mean biological females and not gender identity. So depends on context.

I don’t notice, I’m trying to find less not more things to get annoyed about tbh

Unless they're doing it with irony, from Friday Night Dinner

There's a whole sub Reddit about this 'menandfemales'.

It depends on context. I have a grandson who is under 10 and is autistic. He uses male & female - not because of any derogatory intent but because scientifically these are the titles used.

Friday night dinner was the first thing my mind went to...

For me, I never know whether I want to be referred to as a Woman or Lady or Girl.
I used to think that each of those titles denoted the age range of said "female".
So
Girl - anything up to eighteen

Woman - eighteen to say forty nine

Lady - fifty and above.

I'm not sure now... as I feel it depends how I feel
Girl - when I'm extra happy and joking around being affable.

Woman - when I'm being caressed and intimately cared for by my man, as it instigates me feeling "womanly"

Lady - when I'm being addressed by relative strangers in a respectful manner.

Hey! This is all bonkers lighthearted stuff, so I'm not inviting any pile-ons....

🙏🏻

That's why I specified 'casual conversations'. Reports are a bit different I suspect.

It doesn't just irk me seeing men use the term, loathe seeing women use it to describe other women as well. Just find it really grim and as another poster said, dehumanising.

The context of which was fairly well described in the opening post.

I'm not sure referencing an autistic child under 10 is really in the context of the thread. Besides which, he uses 'male and female' you say - not just female for women, whilst using 'men' for well, men.

I think it’s a popular term in the incel movement. You can almost imagine a misogynist spitting out ‘females!’ with venom online.

Yeah, that's the exact feeling I get.

First time I ever heard it uttered in real life was by a man.. 'Females in bikini's'. Says it all, really. Grim.

What a load of crap. You need a hobby, OP.

Maybe that hobby includes being rather interested in the state of misogyny in 2024.

Or maybe, it includes perusing Mumsnet, much like yourself. It's of course the most important thing to do 6am on a Sunday morning for us both, it seems..

Sounds like I need to read this.. but maybe it'll just give me the fucking rage. 😂

Mine too, and he would've been 94. He had really strange opinions, he was all for equality as long as women behaved more like men!

It’s quite helpful because, when used by men, it’s shorthand for ‘I’m a misogynist.’ It shows you exactly who they are. Women who use the word ladies (when they’re not talking about the loo) quite often have a lot of internalised misogyny.

Loads of people call men males here

Better than the collective 'you guys' which seems to be the common way of addresseing anyone today

This.

But I end up talking about "male people" and "female people" a lot, particularly when discussing feminism, because the words "men" and "women" have now been redefined to mean gender rather than sex.

Yabu because males are now identifying as women & girls. The term female nips that in the bud immediately as males can never be female. The term female is very powerful as it invalidates gender identity.
I love the term female & I am delighted to see it's use becoming very mainstream giving the 🖕 to gender ideology activists & their bolloxology. After all there are only two sex male & female.. The term male is also becoming much more used in general convo & in the media.