I’m a chick. Can I say “chick”? I don’t say it to offend, so can I say it?
Thus creating a self-referential Liar’s paradox? 'One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ’
In my opinion as a chick you can call yourself anything you want.
I have no problem with females using the term in real life, where who says it and who it is said to is a personal decision. In my opinion as a male posting on this message board however, I know that it is next to impossible to use words like that without opening up a big can of worms(“If she can use it, how come I can’t use it…and besides, how do I know that person is a female in the first place, huh?”)
I just don’t see how it’s an offensive word to begin with.
It’s belittling, in my (male) opinion, implying at some level someone small and insignificant. Of course it may not always be used with that intent, but that’s the problem with expressions like this – even used innocently they leave a little smear behind.
As far as rules are concerned, I don’t have a strong opinion either way.
Is the make variant, dude, belittling to you to?
“Dude” is not a variant of “Chick”.
Okay, here’s the context. I started this thread on a device that gets squirrelly about C&P, so I couldn’t link. Here is the link, and the relevant quote:
I’m not really worried about belittling a convicted murderer.
ETA: Dude != chick? They seem pretty evenly matched to me.
I don’t personally have a problem with it shrug. But then, I’m tall and grumpy-looking, so getting patronised has never been nearly so much of a problem in my life as for some other fellow-women-folks
True, but a side note that “dude” is, if not derogatory, not meant to flatter, Lebowski notwithstanding. Can’t think of men referred to as “chicks”, though occasionally in a book one will be called a “bird” (cf. cat, guy, geezer, fellow, bloke, etc.)
Dude and chick are hardly similar. Dudes come in all ages (“he’s a mean old dude!”) whereas chicks are by definition young.
ETA: I can think of exceptions - “chickflick” and “chicklit” don’t necessarily imply youth, AFAIK. But they do imply a lack of gravitas, which certainly could be seen as demeaning.
In this case “psycho” is more descriptive than “chick”…
Disagree with the above. And Dude certainly implies a lack of gravitas. And Rilchiam used it to refer to a Manson follower. So her context was spot on.
Atkins wasnt a psycho though. She was a hippy chick with deep issues who was drugged and manipulated by a real psycho.
Chick: tiny, soft, shy, fluffy, easily squished, insignificant.
There is no equivalent word for men. “Dude” is just a casual word for males, it implies nothing much at all except casualness.
I remember long ago overhearing two young men referring to my sister–who was leading a Sierra Club snow camping expedition out of the lodge they were staying at – as “you know, that real competent chick”. The sneer was unmistakable.
Those bikerchicks look like they can kick my ass.
What’s the difference between a garbanzo bean and a chickpea?
The word wasn’t the problem. The attitude was. People like that would have the same attitude saying “that real competent woman” and it would likely be apparent in their intonation.
In 1969 two chicks told me off for using the term. So I don’t use it anymore.