After this “fun” little catastrophe of a thread concerning the use of the word “female”, looking at the comment section, it’s painfully obvious that the majority of Lemmy’s userbase are men. That’s not a generalization, that’s a literal fact.
“It’s just a word!”, “Maybe English isn’t their first language!”, and “Overact much?” seem to be the most common replies.
So let’s do what should have been done in the first place and ask women their opinion:
What do you think of the word “female” being used? Especially in the context of the linked post in question? When is the use of the word appropriate vs. not appropriate?
EDIT: I think the post linked got taken down. Good.
“Man” and “Woman” are the stardard terms for their respective genders.
“Male” and “Female” are gender descriptions, like “a male student” or “a female giraffe” — these usages are the correct and are not an issue.
Some people simply refer to women as “females” or “a female”, which can be seen as dehumanizing and boiling down their existence to only their gender. Referring to women as “females” is often used by men who do not value women as equals, or even people. It’s awful and creepy.
It seems to very divided, but I don’t like women being referred to as “females”, specifically for the reasons mentioned above.
Hopefully that helps!