# The word "douchebag" (used as an insult) is classless and overused **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 18, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680 "2008-12-18T02:15:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/21 "2008-12-18T13:35:32Z")
> [@Annie](#): > > It does provide me with the line ‘calling him a douchebag is an insult to vaginal sanitation’ I am _SO_ using that - I promise to give you a byline. I remember when Jon Stewart bestowed Robert Novak with the title “American Douchebag” or something like that for his role in outing Valerie Plame and subsequent lack of involvement when the legality of the act was questioned and a formal investigation was started. The word had just enough extra punch to cut through - it was clear that Stewart was calling Novak out and not trying to just bring the Funny. So from standpoint, I hear what the OP is saying - douchebag crosses a line; you can’t just toss up your hands and say “I keed, I keed!” after you call someone that. Having said that, I like it when it is used effectively. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/22 "2008-12-18T15:34:48Z")
Using the word “cunt” as an insult is far more classless and overused, yet it still continues. I would wager that much of the use of it is by people whose dainty faces blanch at the word “douchebag.” ---
**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:** [December 18, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/23 "2008-12-18T15:37:26Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > Well I personally think it **is** an actual obscenity on par with other four-letter words (it’s a blatantly vulgar reference with a sexist edge)… There’s definitely a sexist _edge_ to it, but dammit, help reclaim it! Rather than letting it allude to the fact that women’s parts are inherently dirty and in need of douching, use it to refer to (as I stated above) men who are outdated and bad for vaginas. If you want to go after a sexist, overused word, go after pussy. Like Dan Savage says, if you’re going to describe someone as weak, it makes much more sense to compare them to something delicate like a scrotum rather than a body part that can pass a 10-pound baby. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/24 "2008-12-18T15:57:11Z")
It most certainly is a classy word. Or are you denying the long and respected lineage of Lord (and Lady) Douchebag? ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/25 "2008-12-18T16:18:01Z")
Personally, I think it’s kind of a dumb insult. Usually reserved for the kinds of guys that have no business anywhere near a vagina, telling them they clean vaginas? Yeh, dumb insult, but has a nice ring to it. I find anyone who thinks it’s “disgusting” needs a life – it’s something that cleans the most wonderful place on earth – how is that disgusting? On a side note, I never call someone an asshole either, I find that assholes have a purpose, “ass hair” on the other hand, is useless, gross, annoying and should be shaved/waxed/or otherwise removed from existence. Some people give me odd looks when I call someone an ass hair, but so be it. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/26 "2008-12-18T16:45:59Z")
It always struck me as a really immature insult, far more so than any of The Seven, but I think the reason for that is that it’s one of the first “bad words” I learned that was popular with the other kids. I think I learned it when I was around 9 (long before I knew what it actually meant), and by the time I started junior high (when gratuitous swearing kicks into high gear) “douche” and “douchebag” had already fallen from favor. Now when I hear it, I can’t help thinking of it as something a 3rd grader would say. Now that I think about it, 9 would have been about the time the SNL skit aired, so the schoolyard fad probably started from there. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/27 "2008-12-18T17:36:21Z")
> [@Litoris](#): > > On a side note, I never call someone an asshole either, I find that assholes have a purpose, “ass hair” on the other hand, is useless, gross, annoying and should be shaved/waxed/or otherwise removed from existence. Hold on now, some of us are quite entralled by ass hair. Makes me want to call you _ass wax_, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nikki_Tikki_Tavi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/28 "2008-12-18T17:49:07Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > I am actually a man. This isn’t my attempt at fake online chivalry, but I could never utter a term like “douchebag” without feeling my flesh creep. Even Howard Stern doesn’t seem to use that word. Not that this is the thrust of your argument, but he uses this word all the time. I like “douchebag” as an insult. Or if I’m in polite company, DB. It has a definite meaning that other insults like “asshole” lack, yet it’s so versitile. Nick Hogan? Pompus, spoiled douchebag. My coworker who’s always trying to trap people into conversation? Annoying, lame douchebag. My father in law’s creepy son? Weasley douchebag. It just _works_! ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/29 "2008-12-18T18:07:09Z")
> [@sunacres](#): > > Hold on now, some of us are quite entralled by ass hair. Makes me want to call you _ass wax_, or something. wonder if there’s a word for people obsessed with ass hair…asshairophile? Now \*THAT \*would be a good insult! FWIW, my son just turned 9 and douchebag is the big insult on the playground – when I heard him say it, I asked if he knew what it meant, he didn’t, so I told him. He gave me the :dubious: look and said “how is that an insult?” I told him I didn’t know, but since his teacher thinks saying “darn” is bad, he probably wants to let the other kids say what they want but refrain from saying douchebag himself. ---
**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:** [December 18, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/30 "2008-12-18T18:14:24Z")
> [@Litoris](#): > > it’s something that cleans the most wonderful place on earth – how is that disgusting? But, in most cases, it _doesn’t_ clean vaginas and leaves them [worse off](http://www.vivawoman.net/2008/11/03/vaginal-douching-nay-or-yay/) (especially the scented kind. Eww.). I don’t even think most modern teenage or 20-something women even know exactly what a douche is, or have ever had it recommended by a doctor (unless we’re talking backwards last resort abortion methods). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/31 "2008-12-18T19:00:51Z")
> [@Telperien](#): > > Using the word “cunt” as an insult is far more classless and overused, yet it still continues. I would wager that much of the use of it is by people whose dainty faces blanch at the word “douchebag.” I find I am unable to use it as effectively as my friends who are from Scotland or Ireland. Maybe because with their accents, every other word out of their mouth sounds like “cunt” anyway (or maybe because every other word out of their mouth actually IS). > [@Cat Fight](#): > > We just had a thread about this (I’m sure someone will find it). I’m a feminist and I like it. I generally use it to refer to dudes who are living in the past and bad news for vaginas (just like douchebags!) I would expand it’s usage to any pompous, over the top male behavior. The 26 yr old “going out shirt” wearing, Hummer driving, steroid shooting, coke snorting, Red Bull sipping Jr Associate Vice President at MegaBank Partners Investments (because he’s the son of James Megabank III) is the stereotypical D-bag. > [@LC Strawhouse](#): > > … it’s as aggressive a swear word as there is. I’d seriously consider walking out on someone who used it in my presence. That’s how you know it’s working;) ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/32 "2008-12-19T00:36:09Z")
> [@Litoris](#): > > On a side note, I never call someone an asshole either, I find that assholes have a purpose, “ass hair” on the other hand, is useless, gross, annoying and should be shaved/waxed/or otherwise removed from existence. Some people give me odd looks when I call someone an ass hair, but so be it. I thought ass hair kept the inner ass cheeks from chafing? I’m a female, and I find the term “douchebag” to be a very useful word for describing a certain type of male (see other posts in this thread – they pretty much nailed it). ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/33 "2008-12-19T05:07:52Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > There’s definitely a sexist _edge_ to it, but dammit, help reclaim it! Rather than letting it allude to the fact that women’s parts are inherently dirty and in need of douching, use it to refer to (as I stated above) men who are outdated and bad for vaginas. > > If you want to go after a sexist, overused word, go after pussy. Like Dan Savage says, if you’re going to describe someone as weak, it makes much more sense to compare them to something delicate like a scrotum rather than a body part that can pass a 10-pound baby. I guess that makes sense; so maybe it’s not such a big deal, it sounds like women don’t really mind the term the way it’s used… and the literal meaning isn’t that widely known anyway. Personally though, I just can’t be comfortable using _any_ insult word that references female plumbing… ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/34 "2008-12-19T11:31:39Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I find I am unable to use it as effectively as my friends who are from Scotland or Ireland. Maybe because with their accents, every other word out of their mouth sounds like “cunt” anyway (or maybe because every other word out of their mouth actually IS). Comedian Mike Wilmot had a bit about how the word “cunt” is relatively innocuous in Scotland and/or Ireland, while “fanny” is surprisingly harsh. Make an innocent comment about your fanny being sore, and the locals will be shocked, wide-eyed with mouths agape, with astonished whispers of “_What_ did that cunt just say?” circulating among them. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/35 "2008-12-19T14:10:45Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > Well I personally think it **is** an actual obscenity on par with other four-letter words (it’s a blatantly vulgar reference with a sexist edge)… that’s why I was surprised it’s so commonly used in everyday conversation. While I don’t disagree with where you’re coming from, what surprises me is that this angle (as you can see from the responses) is not very common at all. Most people use the term as a mild-to-medium substitute for greater obscenity, without really thinking about the origin or literal meaning of the term. Which to me, suggests that you knew what a “douche” was before hearing the term “douchebag” as an insult. This is puzzling, especially if you’re a guy, because I definitely heard people calling each other douchebags as a pre-teen or early teen, and was much older before I learned what a “douche” was: I took French in High School and learned that “douche” was French for “a shower”, accompanied by giggling from a few girls, and conversations ensued. (Most of the boys, and more than a few of the girls also didn’t know what a douche really was.) I still have not actually seen a douche kit (I presume they’re sold in kits, like enemas) in a drug store, though I would guess that may be because they’re not labeled as such and have some kind of euphemism on the box? ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/36 "2008-12-19T14:16:32Z")
Here are some other words that have originally literal meanings for sexual organs or maintenance tasks thereof. Do you feel the same way about them? Because in all of these cases I knew them as “general non-four-letter-word insults” long before finding out they had any sexual root meanings. jerk dork putz shmuck wuss, wussy, wuss-out “this sucks” “this blows” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/37 "2008-12-19T14:46:14Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I remember when Jon Stewart bestowed Robert Novak with the title “American Douchebag” or something like that for his role in outing Valerie Plame and subsequent lack of involvement when the legality of the act was questioned and a formal investigation was started. “A Douchebag of Liberty.” Good stuff. I agree that objecting to the provenance of “douchebag” is pointless. Consider where insults comes from: they all either a necessary biological part or function (asshole, shit), or are a term for someone with a mental disability that was once a medical term that is now offensive (imbecile, idiot), or they’re judgments of behavior that aren’t your business or that the speaker may not even disapprove of (cocksucker, whore). I think that’s pretty cross-cultural. Why is douchebag better or worse than any of the other insults out there in this regard? I also still disagree that the word is sexist, edgewise or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/38 "2008-12-19T15:02:57Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > (And for the record, I didn’t know what douching was until probably this last year and I’m 29. I suspect this is common.) I suppose it’s common if you were 29 and didn’t have any family who were gynocologists, or medical professionals of any kind, or have any sisters…or girlfriends…and never watched daytime television…and never spent any time around 11 year olds. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/39 "2008-12-19T15:31:55Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > “A Douchebag of Liberty.” Good stuff. That was it; thanks dude. And I agree with your analysis. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680/40 "2008-12-19T16:00:12Z")
Well not all of us can be fucking Oscar Wilde. (it’s against the law for half of us) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-douchebag-used-as-an-insult-is-classless-and-overused/477680.md?page=3)