# Bitches or Females: Which do you least like to be called **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2012, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765 "2012-09-25T11:57:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![emeraldia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@emeraldia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emeraldia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/21 "2012-09-25T21:20:08Z")
Bitches 22 73.33% Females 7 23.33% neither are offensive to me. 1 3.33 Clearly, the general consensus is that women prefer to be referred to as bitches. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/22 "2012-09-25T21:30:01Z")
I had never in a million years thought of female as being offensive and I am one. On the other hand, bitch can bother me, depending on why it’s said. If it’s a joke, then we’re cool. If the person is an idiot, I consider the source. If I’m unfairly mischaracterized, I hate it and sometimes it hurts my feelings, leading to me trying to change their opinion. And if it’s accurate, I step back (usually) and apologize, then proceed on in a less bitchy manner. ---
**Author:** ![Scathach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/23 "2012-09-25T21:59:48Z")
I think I prefer bitch frankly - at least it seems sort of honest. Bitch is straight up insulting, whereas “female” just seems sort of dehumanising. I would talk about a female dog, or a female cat but if we’re talking about a person the accepted term is woman. I think it does depend on context however; it grates more in the context where men are talking about someone they’d like to have a relationship with, because it seems like rather than talking about a specific person, as a human with interests and feelings, they just referring to a being whose only interesting characteristic is being female. ---
**Author:** ![Scathach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/24 "2012-09-25T22:06:01Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > So now “female” has connotative baggage? In certain contexts, I think it does. Like don’t get me wrong, it’s not an issue I exactly spend sleepless nights over, but if you’re referring to a woman as a female in a situation where you wouldn’t refer to a man as a male, it’s just a bit …odd? grating? I’m not sure how to characterise it really. Like, if you’re filling out a census form and the options are male and female, I don’t think anyone has a problem with that. But female as a generic term where ordinarily woman would be used always seems to argue a certain disconnect away from thinking of a woman as a person and rather than as a generic thing under the umbrella term female. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/25 "2012-09-25T22:10:34Z")
Both are bad, but I do hate the word bitch more. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/26 "2012-09-25T22:42:36Z")
I have wondered about the use of the word “females.” Two of my former colleagues used it fairly frequently. Both were southern, black professionals. One was a college president, in fact. I have only encountered this here (south Florida), so I assumed it was a regionalism. Has anyone else heard this usage? Or was it just those two people? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/27 "2012-09-25T23:31:05Z")
> [@vix](#): > > I have wondered about the use of the word “females.” Two of my former colleagues used it fairly frequently. Both were southern, black professionals. One was a college president, in fact. I have only encountered this here (south Florida), so I assumed it was a regionalism. Has anyone else heard this usage? Or was it just those two people? I’ve definitely heard it more from Black men than from anyone else. And yes, in that context it’s usually dehumanizing as if they are talking about chattel, i.e. “I was dating this female and she…” “Let’s go to the club to meet some females.” ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/28 "2012-09-25T23:46:51Z")
For the record, in the military, the proper polite term for a woman is “female.” There are female barracks, female uniforms, and female latrines. “Woman” is a forbidden word. In fact, when two people in the same unit share a last name, you’ll often here someone call out something like “Someone go get Johnson Female.” So if you hear a soldier refer to a female, don’t take offense. He’s being polite. > [@emeraldia](#): > > Bitches 22 73.33% > Females 7 23.33% > neither are offensive to me. 1 3.33 > > Clearly, the general consensus is that women prefer to be referred to as bitches. Re-read the poll question. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/29 "2012-09-25T23:52:17Z")
I’m imagining some scumbag bro uttering either of these terms, for a little perspective. I feel what several respondents are missing here is that among a certain subset of our population (ie: bros), “female” is used as a negative way to refer to women, not gender specific adjective used on government forms. Imagine some guy in a club with an Ed Hardy shirt on, nursing his vodka and Redbull, lamenting to his buddy, “That fucking female wouldn’t take my number!” I mean, I suppose it can be used positively (“Look at the ass on that female over there!”), but it’s usually a negative thing in my experience. My vote was to “females.” “Female” seems far more dehumanizing than bitch— bitches are still people, just jerks. Men can be- and are- bitches, too. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/30 "2012-09-25T23:53:28Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I’ve definitely heard it more from Black men than from anyone else. And yes, in that context it’s usually dehumanizing as if they are talking about chattel, i.e. “I was dating this female and she…” “Let’s go to the club to meet some females.” My coworkers were definitely not using it that way. It was more like a synonym for woman. This was in a professional setting, and one of my coworkers was a woman. I found it odd. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/31 "2012-09-26T00:00:08Z")
Too late to edit: > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I’ve definitely heard it more from Black men than from anyone else. And yes, in that context it’s usually dehumanizing as if they are talking about chattel, i.e. “I was dating this female and she…” “Let’s go to the club to meet some females.” For what it’s worth, I frequently here it in this context from younger African American guys too. If I had to guess, the preppy white bros probably picked it up in an attempt to be urban and hip— hence my example of popped collar frat boy. ---
**Author:** ![palacheck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a88e57/32.png) [@palacheck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palacheck)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/32 "2012-09-26T00:19:44Z")
Christ, female is out of bounds now to? I can’t use lady, can’t use girl, can’t use woman(well I can, depending on the _inflection_), can’t use gal, and now I can’t use female. I suppose I’ll try not-male or not-man until all of the over-sensitive not-males that outlawed the other words catch on. Which will no doubt be the next post in this thread. I’m screwed. Meanwhile, it’s still perfectly acceptable to call us men, dudes, guys, males, assholes, and “hey dumb-ass”. I need to start dating men. I’ll have to get over the not being gay hurdle, but other than that there should be nothing to it. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/33 "2012-09-26T00:24:46Z")
I voted the third option, but I am a male. However, if you were to ask me if I would accept either other choice as a word used to describe my friends who are female, then ‘female’ is less heinous than ‘bitch’. Come on now, this is \ 2012-09-25. Not 1370-05-01. Do you know the etymology of the word ‘bitch’? ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/34 "2012-09-26T00:52:58Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I know a guy who refers to a member of the opposite sex (once she is about 18 or so) as a “wuh-man”. There’s something about the way he says the word “woman” that makes me see red. He does have issues with women to start with. I guess it’s better than girl/slut/bitch/female, but…“wuh-man” drives me nuts! (once in a great while he uses the word “gal”, that’s OK!). I genuinely don’t get what you’re saying, that’s how everyone says woman usn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/35 "2012-09-26T00:59:34Z")
[This is an audio clip](http://chirb.it/7raqyL) I just made of how I say woman. Can you create one of how you should or shouldn’t be doing it? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/36 "2012-09-26T01:19:39Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > You must have missed [this one.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=571552&highlight=popcorn) I stand corrected . . . and I forgot: The pan-fried semen thread. The semen as fish food thread. Opal’s buckeyes rant. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/37 "2012-09-26T01:22:25Z")
[DEL]Bitches[/del] Females be crazy man… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/38 "2012-09-26T01:24:40Z")
> [@palacheck](#): > > Christ, female is out of bounds now to? The C word is way off limits, FYI. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/39 "2012-09-26T01:29:30Z")
Bitches is better, obviously, because you can make it biznitches. Fiznemales? Doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765/40 "2012-09-26T01:55:06Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > Generally “female” is an adjective. So, from a purely semantic point of view, being called a female pisses me off because there’s no noun. “A female _what_?” I might ask. My dog is a female. Plants can be female. Hell, bits of plumbing can be female. To which type of female are you referring? It’s dehumanizing and that’s what’s degrading about it. > > Now, being called a bitch on the other hand, just sort of makes me laugh. In general, when a man calls me a bitch, I feel like I’ve won. He’s feeling so insecure that he has to tear me down and use some ugly word to try to put me in my proper place, so he whips that one out. And that makes me think he has just handed his power over to me on a platter. I typically respond with “Oh, why thank you. Now that you’re clear on that, we’ll get along a lot better.” > > There is also heartless bitches international, who define bitch as “Being In Total Control of Herself.” When a man stands up for himself and refuses to take any crap, he’s applauded as a strong person, possibly even a leader. When a woman stands up for herself and refuses to take any crap, and maybe even goes so far as to call someone else out on their bullshit, she’s just a bitch. So call me a bitch, then, if that’s the only way you can feel like you’re swingin’ meat. > > But call me a female and I’ll have to work really hard to stifle the urge to punch you right in the throat. I thought it stood for **B** eautiful **I** ntelligent **T** emptress **C** ausing **H** ard-ons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitches-or-females-which-do-you-least-like-to-be-called/635765.md?page=3)