Feminism: chat
Basilbrushgotfat · 26/05/2022 11:40
Yep it's an old word that used to mean prostitute but was also used to refer to young women and girls, by a social superior. So I wouldn't say it ever had a flattering meaning, unless used in an endearing fashion (possible).
Context today is everything, but I'd err on not using it and probably wouldn't appreciate it being said to me!
RoseslnTheHospital · 26/05/2022 17:46
Name calling over a disagreement is never going to go well, and reaching for a name that's only used for women in a subordinate position is always going to be problematic. It's also an odd choice of insult for someone with a position of authority over you.
KimikosNightmare · 26/05/2022 18:29
Dummycrusher · 26/05/2022 16:39
Context was a pregnant woman on a group geared towards women's rights in pregnancy/birth referring to the female consultant as a 'wench' for trying to pressure her into have a c-section.
To quote Inigo Montoya
"You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means"
Wench makes no sense in this context.
Papergirl1968 · 26/05/2022 19:34
It's just an old fashioned term for a woman here in the Midlands, used by older people. My late DF would occasionally use it to refer to my sisters and me, e.g. "I told your mom that we ought to have you wenches round on New Year's Day." Or "I saw a young wench slip on the ice. She did go a sender."
I know he wasn't meaning it in a derogotory way.
KimikosNightmare · 26/05/2022 23:29
Thou hast committed— Fornication? : but that was in another country; And besides, the wench is dead.“
is the famous quote from Christopher Marlowe's play The Jew of Malta
The quote is used as the title for an episode of Morse and one of the Morse novels.
The line is also used in a poem by T.S Eliot.
The person who made the insult is either fantastically well read (the point about the unnamed "wench" in The Jew of Malta is not that she was a fornicator but that she was of no concern) or more likely thinks it means something completely different.
Vursayles · 26/05/2022 23:49
It’s Black Country dialect meaning woman or girl. It’s in no way derogatory and shouldn’t be take as such. The BC dialect has some fascinating words and phrases with great historical richness behind it. I don’t see the point of looking for things to be offended by, isn’t life too short?
deydododatdodontdeydo · 27/05/2022 09:03
Antarcticant · 26/05/2022 16:42
Believe it or not, I've heard it used affectionately, as a term of endearment, where I live, up north. Not keen on it myself but it's no worse than any other inherently misogynist insult.
Me too. I've heard boyfriends use it to their girlfriends in an affectionate way, I've heard serving wench used in a non-derogatory way, but nevertherless it can mean prostitute too.
Dummycrusher · 27/05/2022 14:35
@Vursayles I wasn't looking for something to be offended by. I found it uncomfortable that a female doctor was referred to using a word that marks her as subordinate to men, and particularly uncomfortable that it was a woman saying it in a group which is supposed to be pro women's rights. Hence I came onto a feminism page to explore others' feelings towards this word and have learned about its usage. You have the benefit of your knowledge of black country dialect, but remember that others may not!
bigbootyjulie · 27/05/2022 16:06
I suppose it depends on the speaker's dialect e.g. the Black Country example. Where I'm from, people would say "doll" as a alternative word for woman/girl, without meaning any derogatory connotation. But I'm guessing in this context wench was used as a more "polite" alternative to saying bitch.
KimikosNightmare · 27/05/2022 18:04
Dummycrusher · 27/05/2022 14:35
@Vursayles I wasn't looking for something to be offended by. I found it uncomfortable that a female doctor was referred to using a word that marks her as subordinate to men, and particularly uncomfortable that it was a woman saying it in a group which is supposed to be pro women's rights. Hence I came onto a feminism page to explore others' feelings towards this word and have learned about its usage. You have the benefit of your knowledge of black country dialect, but remember that others may not!
It's got nothing to do with Black Country dialect. The person who called the doctor "a wench" is clearly as thick as mince. There's nothing inately insulting about the word.
KimikosNightmare · 27/05/2022 18:05
RoseslnTheHospital · 27/05/2022 08:54
@Vursayles except that the person using it was trying to be insulting towards the consultant that was trying to push an unwanted c section. So she obviously thought it was an insult.
Yes the person who said it is rude and thick.
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