# Why is douchebag an insult? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054 "2008-08-15T02:13:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/21 "2008-08-15T14:56:29Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Come to think of it, why is “cunt” an insult? I have nothing but the highest regard for the female bits, yet I don’t wanna be called a cunt. [/QUOTE] Probably the same reason being called a ‘dick’ is an insult. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/22 "2008-08-15T15:04:44Z")
And now I wil reprise my post from [another recent thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=479382): A couple walk into a bar. The bartender says, “What’ll you have, folks?” The man is grumpy and says, “Give me a bourbon on the rocks, and give this douchebag whatever she wants.” “Sir, I have to ask you to show respect! This is not some low-class joint, this is a dignified establishment! Now, ma’am, what can I get you?” “I’ll have a vinegar and water.” :rolleyes: Sorry ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/23 "2008-08-15T15:13:26Z")
Insults are funny things. They don’t always have to convey some literal comparison that delivers the insult. They often just use vulgar language to communicate contempt. In the preceding posts, for example, you would sound ridiculous calling someone a vagina but the word “cunt” conveys a profound lack of respect. Same reason it’s OK to say one in public but not the other, same reason I let my kids say “poop” but not “shit .” So it doesn’t matter so much what you’re saying, it’s how you say it. However, in this case, “douche” is a fancy French word for “shower” adopted as a euphemism so I’m not sure how “douche bag” came to be vulgar to begin with. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/24 "2008-08-15T15:13:30Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] That’s the first time I have heard that definition of scum bag. [/QUOTE] Well, that is what “scumbag” means: > [@](#): > > scum·bag Audio Help /ˈskʌmˌbæg/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[skuhm-bag] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation > –noun Slang: Vulgar. > > 1. a condom. > 2. a mean, despicable person. from [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com). ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/25 "2008-08-15T15:26:06Z")
On one of George Carlin’s early albums (and unfortunately I haven’t yet unpacked enough of my CDs to locate my CD copy of it) he does a routine talking about growing up in his old neighborhood, in which he said they made a distinction between “douchebags” and “scumbags”. IIRC, it went something like > [@George Carlin](#): > > Scumbags were the guys, douchebags were the girls. “So this scumbag, he picks up two douchebags, and he doesn’t call me.” ---
**Author:** ![Erasmus\_Darwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@Erasmus\_Darwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erasmus_Darwin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/26 "2008-08-15T15:27:37Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] We don’t call people colostomy bags or catheters or tampons, so why douchbags? [/QUOTE] Tampon was used as an insult in “[Can’t Hardly Wait (1998)](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0127723/)”. Specifically, it’s revealed that Seth Green’s character, Kenny, had written “Denise Fleming is a tampon,” on Denise’s locker. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/27 "2008-08-15T15:29:36Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] That’s the first time I have heard that definition of scum bag. [/QUOTE] The literal definition is something you’re more likely to hear from 1950s-‘60s sources – for example, The Fugs’ second-most popular\* ode to improvisational contraception using trademarked commodities (_Saran Wrap_) contains the lyric, “After the prom, and I ain’t got no scumbag - Saran Wrap.” \*Their _first_ most popular ode to improvisational contraception using trademarked commodities is of course _Coca-Cola Douche_ - which brings us back around again. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/28 "2008-08-15T16:08:08Z")
Interesting- I was just today pondering the exact implications of the word douchebag (which nowdays I think is almost exclusively used to refer to males.) It’s somewhere between “asshole” and “loser”. Kind of implying a guy whose a jerk, but also has some kind of naive stupidity. Anyway, I think it’s interesting how specific insults can be considering how random they can be. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/29 "2008-08-15T16:13:48Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] It’s such a specific term for an insult, though. We don’t call people colostomy bags or catheters or tampons, so why douchbags? [/QUOTE] “Douche bag” may be the exception, but there’s terms that refer to a lot of those, and similar things that are usable in polite company, and some that aren’t. For instance, you can say colostomy bag, but “shit bag” is an insult. You can say tampon, but you better not call someone a “cunt rag”. IME, I think there’s two things that a word or phrase vulgar tend to have. First, it’s something that draws up unpleasant images or just generally not something mentioned in polite society. Obviously, you’re not going to be spending a lot of time talking about things you do in the privacy of your bathroom in polite company. Second, it’s generally a term associated with it that has harsh sounds in it like t’s, k’s, and short vowels. I think “douche bag” definitely fits with the first part, but it doesn’t have as much of the harsh sound as many other words. Perhaps by adding “bag”, being a common ending for many other insults, or the fact that it’s a French word, help make up for that? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/30 "2008-08-15T17:16:39Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] We don’t call people tampons . . . [/QUOTE] Didn’t bonnie Prince Charles call _himself_ a tampon? No, that’s not right. Now I remember; he wanted to _be_ a tampon! [Seriously](http://www.geocities.com/rickanddarvagossip/camillagate.html) ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/31 "2008-08-15T17:22:02Z")
Comeback: The next time someone calls you a “douchebag” (which, if you are anything like me happens frequently) my suggested comeback is, “paper or plastic?”. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/32 "2008-08-15T17:27:25Z")
In a similar vein, I figured out in middle school that the best response to being called a pussy was, “You are what you eat, dickhead.” ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/33 "2008-08-15T21:39:29Z")
That’s weird that douchebag apparently started out as a term for women, now it’s almost exclusively used for men (except from people that use all terms indiscriminately). In my experience, a good example of douchebag is a jerk stereotypical frat boy with trendy ugly clothes, hanging out with dumb chicks trying to get laid and he is stupid/not actually a cool person. Like I went to a bar in a big college town last weekend, and there were tons of guys that all looked the same with their Abercrombie clothes and perfectly spiked/messy hair pounding beers and being obnoxious - “Oh, what a bunch of douchebags.” ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/34 "2008-08-15T21:51:42Z")
[QUOTE=Blaster Master] You can say tampon, but you better not call someone a “cunt rag”. An acquaintance had the nasty habit of calling people a “Twat Rag” He didn’t have many friends ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/35 "2008-08-15T22:24:33Z")
[QUOTE=myskepticsight] That’s weird that douchebag apparently started out as a term for women, now it’s almost exclusively used for men (except from people that use all terms indiscriminately). In my experience, a good example of douchebag is a jerk stereotypical frat boy with trendy ugly clothes, hanging out with dumb chicks trying to get laid and he is stupid/not actually a cool person. Like I went to a bar in a big college town last weekend, and there were tons of guys that all looked the same with their Abercrombie clothes and perfectly spiked/messy hair pounding beers and being obnoxious - “Oh, what a bunch of douchebags.” [/QUOTE] Right. A popped collar is the signature of the modern douchebag. Double points if it’s pink. Like [this guy.](http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/uploaded_images/PoppedCollar-797935.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/36 "2008-08-15T22:32:48Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] We don’t call people colostomy bags [/QUOTE] Perhaps not, but I think I shall start. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2008, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/37 "2008-08-15T22:49:47Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] We don’t call people colostomy bags … [/QUOTE] We do say “shitbag,” though. At least some do. (About 1/4 million hits on Google for the term). …and with that, I hit 10,000 posts. edit: Shit, no I don’t. That’s 10,001. I missed my own milestone! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/38 "2008-08-15T23:29:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Come to think of it, why is “cunt” an insult? I have nothing but the highest regard for the female bits, yet I don’t wanna be called a cunt. That one’s easy. “Cunt”, as used as an insult, is used almost exclusively for females. By calling a woman a cunt, you’re imlying that that’s _all_ she is, and claiming that women have no worth behond sex. I’m not sure, though, why it’s so much less offensive to call a man a “dick”, “prick”, or other slang for penis. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/39 "2008-08-16T00:38:57Z")
[QUOTE=JSexton] Right. A popped collar is the signature of the modern douchebag. Double points if it’s pink. Like [this guy.](http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/uploaded_images/PoppedCollar-797935.jpg) [/QUOTE] What is a popped collar? I can’t see enough of the collar in that picture to tell what you’re talking about. (However, I don’t need to see the collar to tell that guy is a douchebag). > [@Chronos](#): > > That one’s easy. “Cunt”, as used as an insult, is used almost exclusively for females. By calling a woman a cunt, you’re imlying that that’s all she is, and claiming that women have no worth behond sex. > > I’m not sure, though, why it’s so much less offensive to call a man a “dick”, “prick”, or other slang for penis. I always thought of the word “asshole” as being applied strictly to men, and a female asshole is a “cunt”. Although “cunt” is probably the most vulgar word I can think of. Men aren’t as offended by being called a “dick” because men are proud of their dicks. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054/40 "2008-08-16T01:06:36Z")
And why would men named Richard want to use Dick for their name? I’ve never figured that one out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-douchebag-an-insult/460054.md?page=3)