What do you think of women being called names?

Ruthanne

Ruthanne

Caregiver
Location
Midwest
What do you think of society allowing women to be labeled as bitches, whores, sluts, the "c" word, and the like? We have all grown up hearing these words and are used to them. I know some women have retaliated by calling men bitches, too. Think about it. Why should women be labeled all of those words? If we are equals? We do hope to be equals! Men are not commonly called all of those words. :notfair:
 

I am a woman and I hate it. It makes me angry to be called sexist names.

However, being Australian I can cope if there is some context.
Call me a bitch and I will delete you from my circle of friends, but call me a mad bitch with a smile on your face and I will probably laugh too.
 
I don't think anyone should be called names, man or woman. I know some do it in fun, but I'm not in that group of people.
 

Words have power. Few of us are so secure that we are immune to all verbal slights. Being castigated comes with the territory in my job. Usually I consider the source, my clients are in a great deal of pain and lashing out, rarely personal. (Sadly, the

male therapists seldom are spoken to with the level of venom meted out to female ones.) Still, I am only human, and on occasion it hurts. In my private life, no man, or woman, for that matter addresses me in such a fashion

and gets away with it. If we do not voice our objections nothing will change. There are some negative words used against men, often insinuating their masculinity is wanting, but we women still bear the brunt of words used to shame us, coerce, and intimidate us, and deprive us of

the dignity which as human beings we deserve. We are equal by right of our humanity, no one can steal that from us, as yet
the world does not treat us so. Ultimately it is about power, and predatory species rarely give up power willingly.
 
Warrigal said:
I am a woman and I hate it. It makes me angry to be called sexist names.

However, being Australian I can cope if there is some context.
Call me a bitch and I will delete you from my circle of friends, but call me a mad bitch with a smile on your face and I will probably laugh too.
Click to expand...
I have just been walking down the street doing nothing and been yelled at and called a "bitch" for no reason! How does being Australian help you cope with it Warri?

Iodine said:
I don't think anyone should be called names, man or woman. I know some do it in fun, but I'm not in that group of people.
Click to expand...
I agree, I don't think anyone should be called demeaning names either and I don't associate with those who do it. I had made friends with some who did it and ended the friendship because of that.

Shalimar said:
Words have power. Few of us are so secure that we are immune to all verbal slights. Being castigated comes with the territory in my job. Usually I consider the source, my clients are in a great deal of pain and lashing out, rarely personal. (Sadly, the

male therapists seldom are spoken to with the level of venom meted out to female ones.) Still, I am only human, and on occasion it hurts. In my private life, no man, or woman, for that matter addresses me in such a fashion

and gets away with it. If we do not voice our objections nothing will change. There are some negative words used against men, often insinuating their masculinity is wanting, but we women still bear the brunt of words used to shame us, coerce, and intimidate us, and deprive us of

the dignity which as human beings we deserve. We are equal by right of our humanity, no one can steal that from us, as yet
the world does not treat us so. Ultimately it is about power, and predatory species rarely give up power willingly.
Click to expand...
It's sad that you have had to endure that and I'm sorry some have been insensitive toward you. We do deserve dignity and you are right that the world does not treat us so! We have made a bit of progress but have a long way to go. I know fully well what you mean by a predatory species that has the power..I love this video:
 
I have a DIL called Sheila ...it was common to hear mainly men using it as slang word for women ,many years ago, ( in Australia ) .......often used ,Hey did you see that Sheila .!!

.....It's still used occasionally ,I heard a man refer to a woman as the "Sheila " only two,days ago

Warri may be enlighten us where the slang "Sheila" originated
 
I don't really know KD. I had an auntie called Sheila and all I know that it is of Irish origin.

This explanation is as good as any

It is not still used by many Australians. If you use it you will sound old and rural.

Old farmers still use it still and it now sounds very rural. It comes from the Irish name Shelagh which used to be a common name for Australian women.

We have similar things in the history of American English. There are old slang terms for women in the US that were popular in the early 20th century, but no longer are.

To name one: Doll. This was a nickname for someone named Dorothy, and became used to describe women in general. It probably fell out of use in the 1950s and 1960s, but in old movies you can still hear it.

There are some still used in American English for men like “Joe” e.g., “He’s just an average Joe”.
Click to expand...
 
Many years ago, a group of us were working out in Rochester, Minnesota. One of the guys came from Yorkshire, and would usually call women "love". One day an American female colleague reported him for sexual harassment for greeting her with "Morning love" , which in the UK would be a friendly gesture. She was called much worse names after that.
 
"We have all grown up hearing these words and are used to them. "

Damned if I did, nor have I got used to them (and I'n a 40 year vet, so no prude!) in mixed company.

I would not even have thought of saying "damned" in front of my father, let alone my mother, until I was married and well into my twenties.

It's entirely a modern thing, and I find it no moew acceptable now than I ever did.
 
It's sad we have come so far but not if that makes sense.

There is no need for name calling it seems people who fear stronger women resort to name calling. Their problem not ours.
 
IMO we are all guilty and it starts off slowly with small children then picks up speed with teenagers and young adults. I also believe that the anonymity of the internet and the looser standards of cable television has caused people to become bolder with using derogatory words and phrases in everyday conversations.

It makes me sad that we still live in a world where people use phrases that make females appear to be less than males in some way.

Like I said it starts young when you hear phrases like these directed at boys.

Don't be a sissy.

He screamed like a little girl.

He runs like a girl.

Lets go ladies!

 
Ruthanne said:
I have just been walking down the street doing nothing and been yelled at and called a "bitch" for no reason! How does being Australian help you cope with it Warri?
Click to expand...

You have to understand how the word 'bastard' is bandied around. It can be friendly or hostile depending on the qualifier at the front. The context changes as follows

bastard /ˈbɑːstə(r)d/ – general purpose designation for a person or persons, may be either a term of endearment or an expression of hostility or resentment. It has sometimes been called "the great Australian endearment", but can also be an insult; interpreted according to context.

Calling someone "a silly bastard" is affectionate: calling them "a stupid bastard" is a serious insult.

According to a cricketing anecdote, during the "Bodyline" series of 1932–33, the England captain complained to the Australian captain, Bill Woodfull, that an Australian player had called one of his players a bastard. Woodfull supposedly turned to his team and said: "Which one of you bastards called this bastard's bowler a bastard?" When the English Captain, Douglas Jardine, brushed a fly from his face a voice from the crowd called out, "Jardine, yer pommie bastard, leave our flies alone!"
Click to expand...

You need to be a local to work out the subtleties. Old bastard is good, mean bastard is bad, and lousy bastard is very bad. The tone of voice and body language give a clue but if you are having your leg pulled there might be some discordance.
 
Last edited:
I a man may be offered his two cents - yes, there are intentional insults offered. But yes, there are terms ("love") that are gender related but stated affectionately or in friendship. Shall me ban any and all intergender terms and make believe they we are all asexual??

Let's lighten up and concern ourselves with the distinction between insults and friendly comments. Intent is the point.

I for example am often called "studmuffin" and have never once complained even thought it might be called "sexist".
 
Iodine said:
I don't think anyone should be called names, man or woman. I know some do it in fun, but I'm not in that group of people.
Click to expand...

I agree Iodine, I don't think it's really a woman thing either, both sexes have been called various names in society. I'm not into name calling and I haven't directly been called those names by friends or strangers. The language doesn't bother me that much, it's very common these days in real life and on TV or in movies. I wonder how many times some of us women here have been watching a movie like Mommy Dearest and haven't watched the character like the mother and thought to ourselves 'what a bitch', I know I have.

I have to say that in all my years in the workplace if a woman is acting like a bitch or a slut, other women are eager to use those words against her, but it's usually behind her back. So men are not just the guilty ones.
 
Ray said:
I for example am often called "studmuffin" and have never once complained even thought it might be called "sexist".
Click to expand...

My heart goes out to you Ray, that must have been traumatic for you. I admire you for being strong and not complaining, quite the burden to bear. :hair:
 
mmm.. dirty words, hey?.. 007 called M bitch in one of the movies, crocodille dundee called the reporter sheila in the first movie. So what's in a name. depends, are you pissed, are you funning, or just amusing yourself? I have been called names and I have done so myself. as the old saying goes 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me'.
 
I do not accept it. If it happens I say I find that offensive or familiar and it stops. I have done that all my life. The same as my first name, I do not allow folks to use it without permission. I am Mrs until such time as I choose differently. If I am asked my name by some unfamiliar person I say my last name, when they ask for my first I say Mrs.

I have never had a problem with it
 
SeaBreeze - thank you for the kind words. It is a burden but one I must bear (or is that bare?).

Silver - note carefully the tongue firmly implanted in the cheek.
 
I've been harassed and bullied and probably called every name. I don't think name calling is right. I'm not above it. Especially if I'm complaining about someone at work I don't like but that's in a private conversation. And we do need to vent sometimes in my line of work.

But generalized name calling is not good. I think a lot of attitudes start at home. Seriously when I owned a house for 7 years. If this was a good cross section of people, we are in trouble.
 
I have been women at times and they get called names like that, but always out of reach of course.
It is such a stupid thing to hear someone do that and do not understand why they would.
I have never know a woman or seen a woman that I would stoop that low.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top