ok, having a discussion regarding whether or not “Asshole” is a term that can be used on a woman. I say, why not, but my friend argues that Asshole is only to be used on males (such as “bitch” signifies females).
What say the dopers?
From a metonymical perspective, I can’t see why not. In fact, I have heard women describe other women as assholes. Men, of course tend to be inclined to focus on an area a bit more forward.
I use asshole regardless of gender. I don’t see why it would particularly be a “male” insult. Generally, an insult is an insult and basically doesn’t have a gender.
I have an ex who would agree on asshole, but disagree on other anatomical insults, as he thinks that only a person who has that feature can be that feature.
I think asshole is gender-neutral. For the record, I feel the same way about the words bitch and pussy, too.
What an interesting poll. I’ll move it for you to IMHO, where we do polls.
samclem, GQ moderator
I don’t think asshole has to be exclusively for men, but that’s how I’m accustomed to using it.
Incidentally, my favorite female-only insult is “toolbox,” as opposed to a guy who is a tool.
That’s clever! I think I shall adopt it! 
I know that whilst “cunt” is still a very strong swearword in Australia, it doesn’t have anywhere near the weight it carries in the US where it is mentioned in hushed tones as “the ‘C’ word” by the same people who’d say “fuck” as soon as look at you.
This is because for whatever reason, “cunt” as an insult (or term of endearment or even neutral word like “guy” in some circles) is, strangely, a purely MALE thing here. The word is never applied to women, so there is none of that baggage of sexism about it (we call guys "pricks’ or “dickheads” just as readily). The first time I saw “cunt” refering to a woman (in an American novel). I had to re-read the sentence two or three times to make sure.
TheLoadedDog, does it just mean “jerk” in general, or does it mean sissy (like the N.A. use of the word “pussy,” which I’ve only heard applied to men)?
Well, I’m not Australian, but in all forms of British-influenced English I’ve encountered, “cunt” has a similar connotation as “asshole.” It definitely does not refer to sissiness as far as I know.
The usage would rarely be applied to a ‘pussy’ kind of guy over here. ‘Cunt’ is usually hurled at the top of one’s lungs, at someone who is a complete asshole. So it’s more of the ‘jerk’ category, but with a bit of viciousness implied.
I use it as an equal-opportunity cuss, however. FTR I’m female, and I’ll call another woman a ‘cunt’ if she’s really pissed me off. There’s something pleasing about how sharp and harsh it is, and it really does get people’s attention when you call them it to their face.
Personally I treat all blue words as gender neutral, while realizing that some have more ramifications when applied to one gender or another (i.e., calling a man “bitch” or “twat”, “cunt” is totally and completely offensive all 'round and rather a favorite during high-anger moments). So, while I use them towards both male and females, the sex of the recipient does lend a bit more of a profane gravity to the word.
24y.o. woman if that matters.
Misnomer’s Guide to Gender-Appropriate Insults:
Asshole = used for men
Ass = used for both men and women
Dick = used for men
Bitch = used for women, but can be used for a man if he 1) is gay and effeminate enough to be referred to as “she” when we’re feeling catty, or 2) has said something snarky, the way a woman would
Cunt = used for women
Pussy = used for both men and women
Motherfucker = used for men (but rarely, for some reason)
Fuckface = used for both men and women
Shithead = used for men
Bastard = used mostly for men, but sometimes for women
Have I forgotten anything? 
(On preview, I see that The Sausage Creature mentioned “twat”: that’s not a word I’ve ever used. It doesn’t bother me, it just never became part of my vocabulary. However, if I want to insult a woman but am not in a situation where I can swear, I’ll think back to my time in England and call her a “cow” or a “slag.”)
Then there’s my all-time, gender-neutral favourite:
Suppurating Gutterfuck!
Generally slung towards whichever ass has decided I don’t have any rights on the road when I’m on my bike, and has decided to cut me off/park in the bike lane/try to turn a corner and run me over without indicating.
It has a variety of uses. “Sissy” certainly isn’t one of them (the word “wuss” is used here for that). As a pejorative term, it is more similar to “asshole” than to “jerk” in that it implies the subject has a mean or vindictive character, rather than simply being annoying and socially inept as a jerk can be.
Where it gets complicated is that it can also simply be used neutrally simply to mean “a guy” (obviously only in situations where coarse language is permitted such as at a pub or in a locker room): eg. “sorry I took so long to order the beers, there were heaps of cunts in front of me at the fucken bar”, or “see that sign on the wall? No, over there behind the cunt in the red shirt”. Indeed, I once over heard an argument on the street in which a knife was nearly pulled, one guy saying he’d “slice” the other one, but “you’re lucky there’s cunts here” simply meaning “you’re lucky there are potential witnesses”.
Come to think of it, I have heard cunt used as an insult against a woman, but exclusively by gay men, and even then very, very rarely. I’ve never heard anyone use it as a neutral term to describe a woman. I’ve also never heard it used to describe a woman as a sexual object, like skirt or such (though the term pussy is sometimes used in this context).
It remains, strangely enough, 99.9% male.
The Kiwi-ised version of Misnomer’s list (well my Kiwi version anyway)
Cunt= Almost always a bloke on bloke insult (as TheLoadedDog explained). Sometimes used on women.
Pussy= Almost never used. Wussy is the more popular version. Mostly used on men.
Motherfucker= Only in American movies. I have never heard anyone use this (other then in the movies…perhaps we don’t mind if someone fucks our mother?)
and I know some foul mouthed fuckers 
Fuckface= Either
Shithead= Either
Bastard= Either AND objects eg, “this bastard door won’t open”, “this bastard lightbulb has blown” (2 examples from my day )
Wanker is almost alway male though.
My old favorite double standard. Calling a guy a cocksucker is a big no-no, but it’s an admirable trait for a woman.
Asshole is also hilarious when applied to cats - i.e. that lazy little asshole.
Or maybe it’s just me.
Bitch and pussy are not at all the same, though. Used on a man, they both imply weakness or cowardice, while “bitch” in reference to a woman is a completely different insult, and “pussy” is not an insult at all, as far as I know.
in our lovely sexual harassment presentation at work, the presenter said that gender specific profanity was a no-no in the office. using them could get you called into hr and possibly fired.
she then told a wonderful story of how after one of her presentations she got a call from a company asking if she told “john” it was okay to call people " *s " ?
she said she didn’t remember giving him suggestions on what to call people, other than what they said their name was. certainly " * " was never discussed or suggested.
hr went back to “john” and “john” said that presenter said not to use gender specific profanity… everyone has an " * " so he thought it was okay to call anyone that, as he saw fit.
presenter now says that any and all profanity is a no-no in any office.