re: #127 KGxvi

This is a major pet peeve of mine, but I feel the need for a rant:

Stop referring to women as “females”, stop referring to men as “males.” Calling a woman a female dehumanizes her. Calling a man a male dehumanizes him. There is a word for female human being, it is “woman.” Just as there is a word for male human being, it is “man.” Anyone who calls men and women, males and females, I immediately suspect is an asshole (of the misogynistic variety).

I see your point… however.

In some cases, using “male” or female” as an adjective — not a noun — is the best way to get a point across. For example, if Trump calls a reporter an “ugly dog” and I want to write a headline describing it succinctly, the fact that it’s a woman is important to get across.

And in a case like that, a headline like “Trump Calls Female Reporter ‘An Ugly Dog’” is pretty much the best way to do that, and I wouldn’t consider it dehumanizing. Other constructions are clumsy and wordy: “woman reporter,” “reporter who is a woman,” etc.

I’ve always thought of the terms “male” and “female” as adjectives.