Except in scientific writing, most people find this usage of female offensive.

[LittleMissViper]

Spot the difference.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/male
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/female

Wow.

They actually believe MOST people find it offensive to use the word female to describe females that excludes males. I'll repeat that, MOST people. So if I randomly stop people in the street they would tell me this? Really? I think these tossers have not only drunk the cool aid they are totally pissed on it.

I think they mean the use of female as a noun as in "I got chatting to a couple of females in the pub".

I don't like this use, I must say.

That's extraordinary.

Exactly. If you read the whole entry it is clearer.

That's not what they said though, is it (and you might have hoped someone compiling a dictionary could express themselves accurately). They said 'except in scientific writing'. What rot, there are loads of other contexts where 'female' is entirely normal and unremarkable.

"The male of the species is less aggressive" but so fucking fragile they can't cope with women existing.

Whatever species that quote originally referred to clearly wasn't Homo sapiens!

An atypical male example while females get kittens.

Mind you, there may be some squeaks of protest at the notion that unidentified bodies can be assigned as male.

But, "I got chatting to a couple of males in the pub" is ok?

I don't understaaaaaand.

Is this dictionary really saying that the definition of male/female is male/female? Does the rest of the dictionary say apple=apple, pear=pear. Do they not know how dictionaries work?

Also. I thought these words were adjectives, not nouns.

Totally batshit even before you get on to the rest...

No, the whole entry gives examples of this usage that they are entirely unremarkable and yet which they are saying most people consider to be offensive ie "Males and females will be treated equally during the application process" and "Police are looking for a white female between the ages of 20 and 35". There are a number of definitions of the word female in the page and it is clear that only when it is used to describe sex class is it offensive.

😂

No.

Bloody hell it's getting desperate now.

I think the use of female (and male) as a noun is unpleasant to refer to women (men). It’s fine as an adjective - eg “a female postal worker” - but not as a noun - “a female passed me in the street”. The latter makes the subject sound like livestock!

I also find it interesting that the examples for male don't mention the word female at all. But both the examples for female also include the word male.

This dictionary lists two adjectival definitions first.
The first of which is decidedly contentious and I'm sure is far less used than the first.

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/female

Sorry, the first is less used than the second. Or else they're assuming people mean 'gender' when actually they're referring to sex.

That's not what they said though, is it

It's specifically in the entry for the noun, under the meaning "a woman or a girl".

It's not the word "female" that's offensive, it's calling you females rather than women.

The reason it's 'claimed' to be 'offensive' is not because it makes women sound like livestock. It's because women, having been told the word 'woman' now means men who want to be called women, have shrugged and gone ok, so female means actual female women.

So now this tiny minority want to paint the word 'female' as offensive because it's women telling men that womanhood isn't available for their control or colonisation.

In the same way I now call myself a homosexual female because 'lesbian' now mostly means a man with certain beliefs and I want no part of that. I wholly and fundamentally find that offensive.

I get whined at too that calling myself 'homosexual' is offensive - but fuck me, I find all of this offensive and no one gives a fuck .

So I'll use whatever words I want. Being polite when it's entirely one sided and non reciprocal is stupid.

But, "I got chatting to a couple of males in the pub" is ok?

No, but oddly enough I don't think I have ever people use "males" like this.

Women didn't need to call themselves females until men pushed them to it.

... ever hear people ...

heard people ffs.

The reason it's 'claimed' to be 'offensive' is not because it makes women sound like livestock. It's because women, having been told the word 'woman' now means men who want to be called women, have shrugged and gone ok, so female means actual female women.

I do tend to agree. It seems the offensiveness wasn't worth noting until people wanted to justify why women themselves shouldn't be allowed to do this.

Using "female" in place of "woman" is less intrinsically offensive then using "woman" meaning something other than "female".

Interesting also to note that the offensiveness of "female" comes from the failure to use the more-specific word - ie it's the same class of thing as saying "people" instead of women. But that's not offensive under their rules.

Pretty obvious why isn't it? Because women don't commonly use reduction to the biological imperative to reduce the status of men but sadly men continue to do this to women.

I also took it to mean that referring to women as "females" is not considered polite.

It made me think of the dad in Friday Night Dinner who would always ask his sons if they had a girlffriend by saying "Well? Any females?"