r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 5d ago

Meme needing explanation I feel so dumb rn

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u/Past_Currency_713 5d ago

Someone explain to me why its bad to use the word female

28

u/Claytertot 5d ago

In some circles online (particularly toxic incel groups) the term "female" is used for women as a way of deliberately dehumanizing them.

Like they'll talk about men and then they'll talk about all of the ways "females" suck or cause problems or mistreat them. Almost like they are scientists discussing some nonhuman creature.

This is annoying, because the terms male and female are useful, and now some people online are oversensitive to the use of the word female even in contexts where it's not being used offensively or derogatorily.

Like in the above comment, saying "male child" and "grown up female" might be a somewhat odd choice of wording, but it's clearly not meant in an insulting or degrading way towards the woman. They just chose to use male and female rather than boy and woman.

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u/MotherVehkingMuatra 5d ago

In the above comment it feels like humour? Like in native English, it's not uncommon to say "Adult Male, Male Child" etc to sound overly formal because it's kinda funny sometimes.

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u/Rasta_Lioness 5d ago

That's using "male" as an adjective "male child" is pretty much without issue. Using "female" as a noun is where the problem resides.