Annie nailed it. It’s fine to use it towards men, because then it can be taken on so many level from “huh” to “you calling me a pussy?” Sort of the “I got 2 words for you - go fuck yourself.”
Me, I also take a page outta Kinky Friedman and use “I Christianed down the used car salesman” approach to obnoxiously imply the politically incorrect term. “There’s a Mongolian in the woodpile” is another favorite of mine. Hell, I wish I was so totally cool as to pull off a “nigga pleaz” but alas not even Jackie Chan can do that.
Back to the OP, “panties in a twist” directed toward a woman is gender specific and people can take that the wrong way so better not to say jack. And, if you must, “bowels in an uproar” means exactly the same thing without being gender specific.
It’s not at all sexist if their panties have slipped down their legs and bunched around their ankles. If that’s the case then it’s referred to as an informative statement of observation (or maybe a prelude to sex).
[sidenote]“Knickers” means “panties” in the UK and other English-speaking countries. If there’s a gender bias in “panties in a bunch”, then it exists in “knickers in a twist” too - at least, in those other countries.[/sidenote]
Yes, I think it can have sexist connotations. I think it’s worse if said to a male though, because the implied insult is that the man is acting like a woman. I think someone can say it without being sexist, but I think sexists are more likely to say it than non-sexists.
In that case, it’s been completely misused. The expression refers to having one’s underwear disarranged and compressed about the various topography of one’s buttocks, rendering one extremely uncomfortable.
‘Don’t get your panties in a bunch, You know, your panties. Like the ones cops might swab for semen samples and DNA after an 11-year-old is gang raped. Jeesh.’
I don’t think it’s sexist–but then again, almost every time I’ve heard that phrase used lately, it’s been aimed at a man. I think it’s become kind of generic–just another way of saying “don’t get your undies in a twist.”
GaryT, I grew up with “Don’t get your bowels in an uproar!” too.
Honestly, that kind of phrasing would piss me off if it came from a man, because it reeks of the implication that women are soooo emotional and need to be set straight and calmed down by men. So yeah, I think it’s sexist. It’s like “don’t worry your pretty little head about this” or something like that.
