Newsflash: Words that are gender-specific aren't inherently sexist.

[FlyingTiger]

I can't believe the amount of uproar that I sometimes see here over the use of particular words. I've completely lost count of the number of words that various knee-jerk reactionaries target with barrages of caps lock-coated vitriol against the perceived notion that merely by suggesting a gender, a word inherently insults said gender. Oh, and by the way, it only counts for one gender.

sex-ism. noun. discrimination against people on the basis of sex; especially discrimination against, and prejudicial stereotyping of, women

Merely using words in the appropriate context in which they are supposed to be used is not sexism. You want to know why some people call Hillary a "bitch" instead of a "dick" or an "asshole"? Because the latter options are naturally used for men! I'm sure many of us manly males could go on long rants about how merely calling us our own sexual organ is an insult, and therefore reeks of sexism itself, if, you know, that actually were the case. It's not.

The English language is filled with words that are commonly accepted as either generally female or generally male. Moreover, whenever there is a word that is female-oriented, there is at least one male equivalent virtually every single time, and vice-versa. Simply adhering to the common practices of the language, especially when those practices carry no implication that the gender orientation of a specific word is any worse than its male/female counterpart, is not sexist.

But, hey, I'm sure the Sexism Brigade will rush to McCain's defense the first time someone calls him a "jackass." Right?

[MonkeyFunk]

1. Senatrix Clinton would agree

[panader0]

2. You mean women can't be assholes?

[Cleita]

3. I've been called an asshole here on DU on occasion.

I'm a woman and their is no doubt of my gender from my DU name.

[FlyingTiger]

5. And I've been called a "bitch" before.

Does that mean I'm being discriminated against for my male gender, or that it's simply the more uncommon use of the term?

[FlyingTiger]

4. As much as men can be bitches.

In common use, however, the overwhelming majority of "assholes" are men.

Similarly, the overwhelming majority of "bitches" are women, which is why this whole boondoggle erupted in the first place. If "bitch" were primarily used for men, and someone called Hillary that, it wouldn't get nearly as much attention.

[TahitiNut]

14. Anyone who's GOT one can BE one.

:shrug:

[Solon]

6. I think the weakness in your argument is the fact that there exist gender neutral terms...

that are just as effective, and apply equally to both males and females. Asshole, as you already mentioned, is an example, fucker is another, etc.

Besides, your comparisons are wrong, calling a man a Dick would be like calling a woman a Cunt, not a Bitch, the male equivalent of that would be Dog. Also, do note that female body parts have been used as insults towards men, particularly to attack their masculinity or call them weak, like calling men pussies. This is a sexist use of the term towards women because it assumes that women are weak.

Also, Jackass isn't a gender specific term. My question, as always, is this, why use gender specific terms when gender neutral terms work just as well?

[FlyingTiger]

8. So, when a woman is called "manly" or "butch," she should be thrilled?

Woman are insulted for seeming to be too much like men, too. It goes both ways.

As far as gender-neutral terms go, their mere existence doesn't mean that they are better. Why is using a gender-specific term any worse? Should "rugged" be banned because it's used almost exclusively to describe men? What about "bewitching"? Can I no longer call a girl a "princess," or say that a man is built like a "Greek god"?

[Solon]

9. Actually, "manly" and "butch" are sexist insults as well, but in a slightly different way...

similar to calling a man a pussy to attack his masculinity and strength, its an insult directed at attacking a woman's femininity. The reason both are sexist is that both masculinity and femininity are based on preconceived notions of gender roles that have a tendency to encourage people to belittle those who step out from those gender roles.

As far as the rest of your post, by and large, some words are better used in a gender specific fashion, assuming they aren't used in a way to imply insult due to what I said before, such as calling a man a princess.

[FlyingTiger]

10. Then compliments imply gender roles as well. Any gender-specific word does.

You can't have it both ways. "Princess," as a compliment, implies loads of role-defining history based upon gender.

The fact is that the English language, like most languages, evolved to be descriptive enough to feature words that "fit" better with men or with women. To cry "Sexism!" if someone calls Hillary a "cunt," but not if that person, reacting to to exact same event, decides to placate the knee-jerk sexist crowd by calling her a "dick" instead, is to deliberately manufacture an issue where none exists.

[Solon]

11. Implying gender roles is completely normal...

Its the culture we are raised in, so that's expected, to a certain extent. However, using gender specific derogatory terms to insult someone is quite different, especially when alternatives exist. If someone is doing something you don't like, why is it acceptable to use either cunt or dick, depending on their sex, when words like asshole or fucker work just as well? You have yet to answer that question.

[FlyingTiger]

12. Because your entire point was that those words are worse because they imply gender roles.

I answered that question by saying that all sorts of gender-based implications exist in half of the sentences we ever say. That gender specificity is not inherently "bad," which, therefore, would make using gender-specific insults no worse than gender-neutral ones. In fact, I'm rather curious - why do you seem to believe that being called "asshole" or "fucker" is any better than "cunt" or "dick"?

[Solon]

13. Mostly because the only people they offend are assholes and fuckers...

using gender specific terms happens to carry quite a bit of baggage and history around with them that have negative connotations that extend far beyond the person you are insulting with those terms.

[AZBlue]

7. Good luck!

I've tried to explain this before, but it falls on deaf ears. Thank you for making such a sensible and logical post!