# Is the word "panties" offensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 14, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979 "2010-01-14T20:26:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/41 "2010-01-14T22:27:16Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Why would you assume someone named not\_alice is a woman? Seems like the odds would be pretty close to 50/50 except very slightly in favor of being a man. Could be anyone! Any man and any woman except Alice. The one thing we know is it’s not Alice. Because speaking as a woman myself, it is just about incomprehensible that someone would have an issue with the word panty, and not\_alice seemed to be coming from a more understanding position. so I made a faulty assumption that not\_alice actually found it somewhat offensive, which then I inferred that not-alice was a woman. Just because its “not alice” is completely gender neutral. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/42 "2010-01-14T22:36:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And since the OP mentioned “moist”, also, I should say that my first mental association with “moist” is “chocolate cake”, and chocolate cake is _never_ offensive. Unless it’s in your panties. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/43 "2010-01-14T22:36:34Z")
> [@horhay\_achoa](#): > > My sister in law is totally against the word “panties” as a term for women’s underwear. So, the obvious question: **What does she propose to call them instead?** Isn’t “panties” the official name for them? When you buy them at the store, isn’t that what it says on the package? I don’t know, as I have never bought them, but a check of the websites of such fine purveyors of undergarments as [Hanes](http://www.hanes.com/Hanes/Categories/Women-Hanes/Women_ShopByCategory-Hanes/Women_Panties-Hanes.aspx) and Fruit of the Loom suggests that “panties” is What They’re Called. Which is not to say that you can’t shout the word “PANTIES!” in a public place without people either staring or giggling, but the same goes for any undergarments. This is really a Great Debate? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/44 "2010-01-14T22:36:44Z")
I would like to thank **BrotherCadfael** for posting dialogue from that classic scene in “Anatomy Of A Murder”. In return, I offer these lyrics from “The Prince’s Panties” by Mason Williams\*: \*He had dogs, a hundred cocker spaniels and he Called them panties, 'cause they did that mostly… he liked them only for their panting So he would run them ragged, but one day they got fed up And chased the prince right up against the fence And the prince was eaten by his panties \* \*best known for “Classical Gas” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/45 "2010-01-14T22:42:00Z")
I dislike it, and have many friends who do. I think part of it may be its usage, and part may just be how it sounds (certainly the case with the word ‘moist’). I can’t think of anywhere I even hear it except _Law & Order: SVU_, usually to describe where they got the semen samples from an awful rape and/or murder. ETA Not that I consider this a Great Debate so much as a To Each Her Own. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/46 "2010-01-14T22:45:13Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > From **Anatomy of a Murder** , a courtroom classic: > > [_Judge Weaver has stopped the testimony by Detective Sergeant James Durgo, State Police, and called the lawyers to his bench_] > **[Judge Weaver](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919583/)**: Mr. Biegler, you finally got your rape into the case, and I think all the details should now be made clear to the jury. What exactly was the undergarment just referred to? > **[Paul Biegler](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000071/)**: Panties, Your Honor. > **[Judge Weaver](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919583/)**: Do you expect this subject to come up again? > **[Paul Biegler](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000071/)**: Yes, Sir. > **[Judge Weaver](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919583/)**: There’s a certain light connotation attached to the word “panties.” Can we find another name for them? > **[Mitch Lodwick](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0921959/)**: I never heard my wife call 'em anything else. > **[Judge Weaver](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919583/)**: Mr. Biegler? > **[Paul Biegler](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000071/)**: I’m a bachelor, Your Honor. > **[Judge Weaver](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919583/)**: That’s a great help. Mr. Dancer? > **[Claude Dancer](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001715/)**: When I was overseas during the war, Your Honor, I learned a French word. I’m afraid that might be slightly suggestive. > **[Judge Weaver](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919583/)**: Most French words are. You might be interested to learn that the French word in question is probably “petite culotte”, which one could translate as “little arse-ie”. So, um, yeah…😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/47 "2010-01-14T23:01:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And since the OP mentioned “moist”, also, I should say that my first mental association with “moist” is “chocolate cake”, and chocolate cake is _never_ offensive. [Don’t read this, for the love of God.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11923767) ---
**Author:** ![cuberdon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/45deac/32.png) [@cuberdon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuberdon)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/48 "2010-01-14T23:03:21Z")
It would never have occurred to me that this word might be offensive. My whole life, I don’t think my mother ever called them anything but panties. ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/49 "2010-01-14T23:15:33Z")
Every time my daughter starts whining about something I tell her not to get her panties in a bunch (or “bunched up” just to mix things up). She doesn’t seem to appreciate it much. So that’s one vote for…and one against. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/50 "2010-01-14T23:20:04Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > Every time my daughter starts whining about something I tell her not to get her panties in a bunch (or “bunched up” just to mix things up). > > She doesn’t seem to appreciate it much. > > So that’s one vote for…and one against. It couldn’t possibly that she’s annoyed by your subtle implication that her trivial protests are unimportant (even to her!) and the _real_ reason she’s whining is just becuse of chafing. No sirree, that couldn’t be it at all… ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/51 "2010-01-14T23:24:23Z")
[A previous thread about the hate women have for the word “moist”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=464220). I don’t get it. EDIT: [an article from Salon about female hate for “moist”](http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2007/10/29/moist/index.html). MOIST MOIST MOIST MOIST MOIST! MMMMMMMMMMM-OIST! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/52 "2010-01-15T00:09:38Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > You might be interested to learn that the French word in question is probably “petite culotte”, which one could translate as “little arse-ie”. So, um, yeah…😛 Hm… I always assumed that it was “lingerie”. Shows what I know. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/53 "2010-01-15T01:37:46Z")
I totally hate the word “panties.” It’s just the way it sounds. Panties. Ew. I also hate the word leotard. But there’s nothing sexist or offensive about “panties.” That’s ridiculous. I’d love to know this woman’s reasoning. I personally call them underpants because underpants is a funny word. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/54 "2010-01-15T04:01:05Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I"m against all dirty words. > > Like “areas” That’s dirty. > > Or “urges”. I’m getting “urges” in my “areas”. > Tip o the hat to [Four on the Floor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_on_the_Floor) What EP is talking about, BTW: [http://www.qwizx.com/4otf/downloads/urges.mp3](http://www.qwizx.com/4otf/downloads/urges.mp3) ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/55 "2010-01-15T04:31:22Z")
I can’t believe nobody has mentioned the word “drawers”. I would think that most women would be more offended by referring to their underpants as “drawers” than “panties”. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/56 "2010-01-15T04:58:10Z")
**Panties, Moist** bandname! Ok,Ok, keep your shorts slack, mate. Anyway, I just wanted to ask, since I have to go through belongings with pts that are being admitted to the hospital, what would you like a male nurse to call them? Ok, so you have a wallet, watch, wedding band, sneakers, jeans, bra and panties is my usual speech, but Og knows I wouldn’t want to traumatize anybody ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/57 "2010-01-15T05:33:46Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > Perhaps the original concern is because the word itself is in “diminutive” form, and so perhaps childish, or since it is (generally) gender-specific, girlish, and strikes at a woman’s identity as a woman? Mebbe, but I bet the word is in a diminutive form because the garments themselves are diminutive - they are smaller versions of pants. Same reason men’s undergarments are called “shorts”. Myself, I like the 18th c. word “smallclothes” and its diminutive, “smalls”. And speaking of panty expressions, what about “Put on your big-girl panties and deal with it”? I hear that used to both sexes. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/58 "2010-01-15T05:36:58Z")
> [@slowmovingvehicle](#): > > Mebbe, but I bet the word is in a diminutive form because the garments themselves are diminutive - they are smaller versions of pants. Same reason men’s undergarments are called “shorts”. Myself, I like the 18th c. word “smallclothes” and its diminutive, “smalls”. > > And speaking of panty expressions, what about “Put on your big-girl panties and deal with it”? I hear that used to both sexes. Really? If you made panties bigger, I don’t think you will end up with pants. Nor will you end up with panties if you make pants smaller. At least in the corner of the fashion world I have always lived in. How about you? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/59 "2010-01-15T09:25:17Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Knickers! And bollox to you to 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979/60 "2010-01-15T10:08:16Z")
I would find it a bit annoying if someone referred to my underwear as “panties”, but that’s never happened. I think of underwear names like so: Panties - worn by girls up to about age 12 Pants, underwear - gender-neutral, worn by adults (“underwear” is my own preferred term) Knickers - lacy silky underwear worn by adult women. I think “offensive” is an odd word to describe it, but if someone referred to my “panties”, I would assume they were implying that I was a 12-year-old girl. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-panties-offensive/524979.md?page=4)