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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#26 Old 31st Aug 2015 at 5:21 PM
Quote: Originally posted by r_deNoube
... which makes it totally appropriate that you're seeking information about what shades of meaning you'd be able to convey by various possible uses of that leeway.


Exactly. Some writers abuse that, and I don't want to be like them. Some have even written in ways to disguise their biased opinions. I know you can't please everyone, but I'd rather take the least offensive route if I can.
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Lab Assistant
#27 Old 9th Sep 2015 at 8:37 AM
Female is of any species. Porcupine, Ant, Bovine, Raccoon, Whale, Frog, Fish. etc

Female, A female what?

Woman, is an adult human female.
Field Researcher
#28 Old 9th Sep 2015 at 9:41 PM
You can't have a female slug. They're hermaphrodite.
Top Secret Researcher
#29 Old 10th Sep 2015 at 1:17 PM
Quote: Originally posted by saturnian
You can't have a female slug. They're hermaphrodite.


But if they identify as female then you should call them female. Everyone should live in a world where they are called what they want to be called.



(shut up I know it's a snail instead of a slug but it's still beautiful!)

I wouldn't put a lot of effort into getting it transported.
Instructor
#30 Old 12th Dec 2015 at 10:18 PM
"Questions to Consider:

01. Do you use female, woman, or neither?
02. Do you find the term female degrading when referring to humans? "

01:Female. I think it is a beautiful word. Actually I like it better than woman. It is more sharply defined.
02: No. I never though about it like that until you mentioned it here. The distinction between a human female and a female animal is done in the mind somehow. I never confused the two.

"The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory. "
Test Subject
#31 Old 29th Dec 2015 at 9:01 AM
i'm not sure how rich suburban white people use it and i don't know much about grammar (obviously) but i know it's common in aave for 'female(s)' to be a substitute for the word 'bitches' or what have you and more often than not is not associated with anything positive. "i'm not like these other females" "most females are like X" "i hate when females do X" "[blank]ing females" the closest word to this that i can think of is the way some folks generalize 'ladies' or 'women' but i don't think that's quite right either....

go here for memes
Instructor
#32 Old 2nd Jan 2016 at 4:27 AM
I feel like they were fine where they were. The only instances I've seen of 'female' being considered crass is when it's used as a noun. As such, "female [insert whatever occupation]" is fine, but referring to a woman as "a female" is kinda tacky. As for "woman [occupation]", it sounds awkward grammatically, but I haven't really thought on it that hard.
Test Subject
#33 Old 10th Apr 2017 at 12:52 PM
When you write it read it back, out loud, several times. Put it down and come back and do it again. how does it sound out loud? How does it make you feel? There is your answer. I know this because when my husband and write this is what we do. We have 21 books under us now and no one but one person has complained yet lol! We have a woman doctor and we call her that, we call her female, ( no more animal than male btw) and also lady. She hates that one as she is also gay.
Mad Poster
#34 Old 10th Apr 2017 at 4:53 PM
Grammatically, if you mean "woman doctor" (or "Woman occupation") is the proper way, the male counterpart would be "man doctor", which to me sounds very awkward. I prefer using female and male. Or just say "doctor" unless there's some reason to describe the person as a male or female whateveritis.

In my opinion, female and male are better to use as adjectives. You don't usually say "A female" or "a male" and leave it at that, because the words do indicate there's something coming after, and like other adjectives they do describe the word, such as "a female doctor" or "a male cat".

Female and male are descriptive words, and can be used for anything that is female or male, whether it's an animal, human, sculpture, or piece of clothing, or whatever else you'd describe by gender. Man and woman are not descriptive words in the same sense. Using them as such makes (to me) equally ridicolous sense as saying "a man/woman dog", or "a man/woman child".
Instructor
#35 Old 11th Apr 2017 at 4:37 PM
I also use "female" and "male" as adjectives and "woman" and "man" as nouns.

Eg.
"My doctor is male" vs. "My doctor is a man."
"My doctor is female" vs. "My doctor is a woman."
 
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