# How Offensive Is The Word "Jewess"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2014, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-offensive-is-the-word-jewess/688175 "2014-05-11T05:10:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-offensive-is-the-word-jewess/688175/81 "2016-09-13T21:21:14Z")
Only time I ever heard the word uttered was in the 70s when my girlfriend (is this an outdated, offensive word now too, btw?) at the time was asking about another (past) girlfriend. It was a little weird, but SF at that time, well… ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-offensive-is-the-word-jewess/688175/82 "2016-09-13T22:09:10Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > It’s basically like this, X word is something that people said in the past, people were racists in the past, therefore X word must be racist. You left out a step: X word is something that people said in the past, people were racists in the past, **racists used the word in a racist context in the past** , therefore X word **is** racist. There is no question that Nazis and other anti-Semites used the word Jewess as a racist term, and that therefore Jews find it offensive. It is true that for marginalized groups who have been the victim of extensive and systemic bigotry, it’s hard to find historical terms that are not racist, because there weren’t many occasions on which those groups were referred to in a completely neutral context. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-offensive-is-the-word-jewess/688175/83 "2016-09-13T22:19:30Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > You left out a step: X word is something that people said in the past, people were racists in the past, **racists used the word in a racist context in the past** , therefore X word **is** racist. > > There is no question that Nazis and other anti-Semites used the word Jewess as a racist term, and that therefore Jews find it offensive. > > It is true that for marginalized groups who have been the victim of extensive and systemic bigotry, it’s hard to find historical terms that are not racist, because there weren’t many occasions on which those groups were referred to in a completely neutral context. You left out “and has no function in the present.” So its use suggests the user’s views have not been updated since the term was used. This covers why terms such as “Negro” and “Oriental” are bad. Even the people back who were using the terms in a non-racist manner most likely carried a ton of prejudice with them. The way to check the modern speaker is simple. Tell them that the word is offensive now. Do they get all upset and complain about being called racist? Or do they apologize and say “Oh, I didn’t know”? ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-offensive-is-the-word-jewess/688175/84 "2016-09-13T23:39:15Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > You left out a step: X word is something that people said in the past, people were racists in the past, **racists used the word in a racist context in the past** , therefore X word **is** racist. > > There is no question that Nazis and other anti-Semites used the word Jewess as a racist term, and that therefore Jews find it offensive. > > It is true that for marginalized groups who have been the victim of extensive and systemic bigotry, it’s hard to find historical terms that are not racist, because there weren’t many occasions on which those groups were referred to in a completely neutral context. Actually I have a feeling most Nazis used German rather than English epithets for Jews. Also unless the writer of the journal in the op disliked their own grandmother for being Jewish it seems unlikely that the person using it thought that it carried any negative connotation. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-offensive-is-the-word-jewess/688175/85 "2016-09-14T00:25:06Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Actually I have a feeling most Nazis used German rather than English epithets for Jews. Also unless the writer of the journal in the op disliked their own grandmother for being Jewish it seems unlikely that the person using it thought that it carried any negative connotation. Interesting point of reference: I tried to Google to figure out if there was English-language Nazi propaganda that used the word “Jewess” and ended up finding a lot of links to the word being used currently on stormfront and other anti-Semitic sites. So that alone would make it an offensive term. That said: – I was answering the question posed in the thread title "How offensive is the word “Jewess”. With reference to the OP’s specific question as to whether it’s O.K. to use the letter and text in context, I agree with everyone else that it’s perfectly fine as a historical document. – The letter was written prior to the Second World War, so the Nazi context did not exist at the time it was written. – Use of a term by the group referenced is entirely different from its use by outsiders. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-offensive-is-the-word-jewess/688175/86 "2016-09-14T01:21:55Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > This covers why terms such as “Negro” and “Oriental” are bad. Even the people back who were using the terms in a non-racist manner most likely carried a ton of prejudice with them. Martin Luther King had a “ton of prejudice”? The UNNCF had a “ton of prejudice”? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-offensive-is-the-word-jewess/688175/87 "2016-09-14T06:18:44Z")
Regarding a quote from 90-some years ago; leave it as written. Here’s something I wrote years ago about preserving old books onto Project Gutenberg: > [@](#): > > **The Primary Rule** > _“Don’t change what the author wrote!”_ > > The final electronic book seen by a reader, possibly many years in the future, should accurately convey the intent of the author. If the author spelled words oddly, we leave them spelled that way. If the author wrote outrageous racist or biased statements, we leave them that way. If the author put italics, bold text, or a footnote every third word, we mark them italicized, bold, or footnoted. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-offensive-is-the-word-jewess/688175.md?page=4)