# what's the "anti-misogyny policy"? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 14, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085 "2018-12-14T00:31:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/181 "2018-12-16T23:51:49Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I don’t think they want to give a definition. The policy loses a bit of it’s power to control others if it’s not as whimsical as “whatever strikes my fancy today”. Maybe they dont as they dont want people dancing right up the the line, and going: "_SEE! I am not violating your stupid rule!"_ ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/182 "2018-12-17T01:11:13Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > The master speaks. While we’re all holding forth on how use of words like “hot” are mysoginistic and deeply offensive, it seems only appropriate that another word be deemed completely unacceptable here. I am ethnically a Jew from a family that pre-dates the 12 Tribes of Judea by over 1,900 years. My people were routinely beaten, raped, starved and murdered by their “master”. If applied to an inanimate object, the word “master” is perfectly acceptable. i.e., " They used to make master audio recordings out of Bakalite™ cylinders ". If applied to a person, the word “master” is a massive trigger word for anyone whose personal history involves violence and oppression. Not only people of Jewish heritage, but anyone descended from oppressed peoples. From where I sit, using a word like “master” here is every bit as disgusting, inappropriate and Warnable as “hot”. I don’t come in to The Dope to be told who my master is. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/183 "2018-12-17T01:29:37Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > From where I sit, using a word like “master” here is every bit as disgusting, inappropriate and Warnable as “hot”. > > I don’t come in to The Dope to be told who my master is. I don’t think I’ve ever used it, but I’ll refrain from using it in the future if I know it’s offensive to you and to the folks I may be talking to. (Yes, I know you’re trying to make some kind of point, but that is a sincere answer from me. If you find it offensive, of course I won’t use it. Why would I?) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/184 "2018-12-17T01:37:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever used it, but I’ll refrain from using it in the future if I know it’s offensive to you and to the folks I may be talking to. > > (Yes, I know you’re trying to make some kind of point, but that is a sincere answer from me. If you find it offensive, of course I won’t use it. Why would I?) While I get what you’re saying, the kabuki-theater offense that Cartooniverse plays at is obnoxious. He doesn’t seem to get that people irritated at things like talking about the hotness of female politicians are genuinely irritated, not playing some sort of holier-than-thou game. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/185 "2018-12-17T01:39:16Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > From where I sit, using a word like “master” here is every bit as disgusting, inappropriate and Warnable as “hot”. > > I don’t come in to The Dope to be told who my master is. Interesting. > [@Is this a date?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-date/313417/21): > > Er… that should be “us romantics”… > > –slinks off in shame– > > As The Master has said, > 😃 > [@The Place Where Everything Is Cecil](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-place-where-everything-is-cecil/324775/1): > > We knew it would happen. At some point, our Perfect Master would make the intelligent move of investing in Real Estate. > [@If Having Sex Was Painful And Labor Intensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-having-sex-was-painful-and-labor-intensive/354823/20): > > [The Master Speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_007.html) > > 😃 > > **Antinor01** , story of my life… I tell ya, story of my life. 😉 > > Cartooniverse > [@my RO aneurysm: Uppity middle-class society destroyers don't want sidewalks!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ro-aneurysm-uppity-middle-class-society-destroyers-dont-want-sidewalks/403419/43): > > You know. The location posted in his member info in each post says Chicago, Il. Our Perfect Master harkens from that fair city as well. > [@So, what are your sexual fetishes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-your-sexual-fetishes/407197/122): > > To quote **Cecil Adams** , our Perfect Master: > 😉 > [@A wee bit hypocritical there, Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/252): > > That’s **kudos**. > > To quote The Perfect Master, " Boys don’t get intimate with girls who are illiterate." > [@Springsteen and Super Bowl halftime.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/130): > > Two things came back to me as I saw that clip. ( Which I’d not found before replying into this thread). > > Sheila E. was utterly focused on and delighted WITH Tito. A lot of clear joy and respect there. She was playing next to The Master. > [@WoooHooo ! I got my SDMB 13 Year Pin !!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wooohooo-i-got-my-sdmb-13-year-pin/639653/1): > > Join Date: October 1999. > > Now I can proudly wear my 13 year pin. It arrived the other day. > > An attractive enamel cloisonne pin bearing the resemblance of Our Perfect Master, perched atop a wooden stool with a malted milkshake in one hand and a meerschaum pipe in the other, intently perusing his dog-eared copy of [The Orlando Furioso](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Furioso). > > No, you can’t try it on. It’s mine. Mine, I say !!! Get your own pin !!! > > Imagine what the 15 year pin will look like. > > 😃 > [@Problems with Jamaica and reggae music are "off topic" in a thread complaining about Bob Marley](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-with-jamaica-and-reggae-music-are-off-topic-in-a-thread-complaining-about-bob-marley/650140/45): > > Also, it’s spelled “troll”, not “trole”. > > To quote our Perfect Master, " Girls don’t get intimate with boys who’re illiterate." > [@Silenus has a custom title, which although I can live with, isn't right](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silenus-has-a-custom-title-which-although-i-can-live-with-isnt-right/816495/33): > > You would too if you had to use a mortar and pestle to grind up raw onions. 😃 > > As to the OP: It feels Jerkish to me, but lots of things feel Jerkish to lots of us. I’d gladly defer to our pressed-out Moderators/ Perfect Master when it comes to this kind of ruling. > [@The new Straight Dope administrator ...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-straight-dope-administrator/817353/138): > > It occurs to me that there may be those unsure of the heritage to which we so dearly cling. Therefore, I bring you a tautly penned profile featured in Time Out Chicago from 2011 entitled, [" Who Is Cecil Adams?](https://www.timeout.com/chicago/things-to-do/who-is-cecil-adams). Not only does one peruse the article’s body of text, one might do well to click right through the photos. > > Here on display is some of infamous Straight Dope Artiste-In-Residence Slug Signorino’s work. Our Perfect Master, frequently portrayed as a turkey wearing a mortarboard, is depicted. > > 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/186 "2018-12-17T01:42:48Z")
Yeah, something smells here. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/187 "2018-12-17T01:51:10Z")
There’s a huge difference between people who are genuinely offended and people merely claiming to be. Nice try. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/188 "2018-12-17T01:51:25Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Interesting. You never disappoint. Yes, I was making a point. And it wasn’t to disrespect the people who are very very very tired of being referred to as “hot” The point was that being the Word Police is a losing proposition. " Don’t Be A Jerk " has served us pretty well since before 1999. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/189 "2018-12-17T01:54:28Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Interesting. Smells like bad faith, frankly. Fascinating little thread, here. (I also find multi-vehicle car wrecks fascinating.) I just thought I’d add that the [Google Ngram results]([Google Ngram Viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=%22fairer+sex%22&case_insensitive=on&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2C)" fairer sex ") for usage of the phrase \*\*“fairer sex” \*\*over time are interesting. (Might be issues with their corpus, yadda yadda.) The phrase seems to have been faddish. Usage saw spikes in popularity around the Civil War, from 1900-1920, and around WWII. It hasn’t fallen out of use – far from it! Lots of references from the late 1960s onwards. But, roughly, as often as not it seems to be referenced as a signifier of old-fashioned sexism. I wonder if **HurricaneDitka** suspected that the phrase would be controversial in this context? Or whether “abreast” and “henpecked” would be? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/190 "2018-12-17T02:00:20Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > You never disappoint. > > Yes, I was making a point. You should probably work on your skills there. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/191 "2018-12-17T02:05:20Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > While I get what you’re saying, the kabuki-theater offense that Cartooniverse plays at is obnoxious. He doesn’t seem to get that people irritated at things like talking about the hotness of female politicians are genuinely irritated, not playing some sort of holier-than-thou game. Oh, I totally understand that. But, even if Cartooniverse were playing the kabuki-theatre offense game for whatever dumbass reason, if he told me the word “master” offends him or whatnot, I would just avoid that word, because I try not to be an asshole. I don’t always succeed, but I do my best. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/192 "2018-12-17T02:14:31Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > I wonder if **HurricaneDitka** suspected that the phrase would be controversial in this context? Or whether “abreast” and “henpecked” would be? He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s been doing it for a long time while complaining he doesn’t understand after it’s been explained to him a million times while he continues to do it while complaining he doesn’t understand after it’s been explained to him a million times while he continues to do it while complaining he doesn’t understand after it’s been explained to him a million times while he continues to do it… ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/193 "2018-12-17T02:20:12Z")
I’ll admit that I won’t disarm myself of a useful word or expression merely because someone claims they are offended by it. For one thing, I’m not convinced that taking offense is a particularly intense form of suffering nor should it rank high in cost benefit situations. As I student of wordcraft though I like to be _aware_ that certain words offend. And as someone with a very modest amount of _manners_, I feel no urge to needlessly and gratuitously offend others. To use the technical expression, it’s an aspect of [not being an asshole](https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/02/my-12-rules-for-life/). Still, not all dings and slings are harmful on net. There are a set of words I try to avoid, but it is not a large set. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/194 "2018-12-17T02:33:55Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > He knows exactly what he’s doing. Oh, sure. While I agree with some of his points earlier, there’s no doubt in my mind that “henpecked” was picked purposefully to needle people. I mean, who the fuck uses that word these days anyway? ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/195 "2018-12-17T02:51:05Z")
Some try not to be assholes. Others …choose a different direction. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/196 "2018-12-17T03:06:58Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Some try not to be assholes. Others …choose a different direction. Some don’t _try_ to be assholes. It just comes naturally. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/197 "2018-12-17T03:07:37Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Yes, that seems clear. I’ve asked several times and been told: > > 1. How terribly obvious it is to anyone with a brain, but > 2. We cannot give a definition, because it would be too complicated. > > I’m done with the topic, yet you are absolutely correct. But you haven’t been _asking_ for a definition; you’ve been asking for a LEXICON. The issue is NOT that it’s too complicated; it’s that there’s no way to anticipate every possible way people could make comments that are misogynist. Imagine a kid saying he can’t figure out on his own what names he can’t call his sister, so his parents should write out a comprehensive list. The parents create a very, very long list of all the forbidden names they can think of, and he tells his sister, “You have the intelligence of an amoeba.” He’s smugly triumphant. Not on the list of forbidden names! His parents add “Do not tell your sister she has the intelligence of an amoeba.” He turns to his sister and says, “You have the IQ of a protozoa.” “No comments on your sister’s intelligence at all!” his frustrated parents tell him. So he tells his sister that with some effort, she could win second prize at a dog show. It becomes obvious this isn’t only about his sister: it’s an attempt to manipulate his parents, so they finally tell him, “Look, just don’t be a jerk.” ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/198 "2018-12-17T03:36:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever used it, but I’ll refrain from using it in the future if I know it’s offensive to you and to the folks I may be talking to. > > (Yes, I know you’re trying to make some kind of point, but that is a sincere answer from me. If you find it offensive, of course I won’t use it. Why would I?) Because it’s a perfectly valid word depending on the context\*. As a Jew with credentials similar to his, I’m giving you the OK to use it. \*A sensei, for instance, is properly referred to as a master. And this is the context in which Cecil uses it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/199 "2018-12-17T03:47:20Z")
I didn’t even know there was a formal misogyny policy. Until it slapped me down with a warning. Note to self. No matter how tempting, never make a harmless ED joke about an ED ad running on the SDMB. Those ads are meant to be a bit suggestive. That’s how they sell those blue pills. I knew we couldn’t make crude sexual comments about women. That’s perfectly understandable. I don’t say things like that anyhow. But the policy here goes way beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085/200 "2018-12-17T03:50:44Z")
::rolleyes:: I’ll be on the veranda, since you’re already on the cross. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-anti-misogyny-policy/826085.md?page=11)