"woman" as opposed to "female"...???

[Catty1]

I got this from another thread - and I HEAR it all the time on radio. A personal wee peeve of mine.

Pardon me for getting grammatical here - but isn't "woman" a noun and "female" an adjective?

Examples:

The president is a woman. We have a female president.

The woman is driving a car. The driver of the car is female.

Any examples of what you have heard?

[GraceByDesign]

I have heard some male military folks refer to "Females", using the word as a noun... This was several years ago, like in the late 80's.

Otherwise, I agree with your usage of the words: Woman=noun, female=adjective

[Lady's Human]

Trust me, in the military, a female soldier is a female. Not a woman/female soldier/girl/(and several other less flattering terms) but a female.

The first definition of female in the dictionary is a noun, the adjective follows.

[Catty1]

Yes, seems to me that "female" is a noun as well.

But I DO disagree with the word "woman" being used as an adjective - on the airwaves here and in print, it is all too common.

Even on our own public broadcaster!

[Scooter's Mom]

How about...
As long as you can have children you're a woman. Soon as something happens and you can't... you're merely female.

Personal experience speaking. There really is a big difference.

[columbine]

As a noun, "female" isn't very precise. It could refer to a goose, bitch, cow, blossom, or connector.

"Woman" is an adult female human, and how adult female humans in their 20s and 30s refer to each other ("women's poker night.") "Girl" is the preferred term among women in their 40s and above ("going fishing with the girls.") Nobody knows why this is.

"Woman" as an adjective is usually used to designate a noun that isn't culturally associated with women ("woman president," "woman astronaut," "woman physicist.") Laika was a female astronaut. Just goes to show you, if you're female, you have to be really careful in your career choice.

Love, Columbine

[finn's mom]

How about...
As long as you can have children you're a woman. Soon as something happens and you can't... you're merely female.

Personal experience speaking. There really is a big difference.

Really? I think it depends on the woman's own feelings on the subject. I have a couple of girlfriends who can't have children and they feel no less like a woman than before discovering that unfortunate news. Upon first reading your comment, I thought "wow, that's rude", but I read it a couple more times and realize now what it might mean. I am truly sorry that you feel that way.


My take...I don't care either way. Any word can be offensive or derogatory if used in such a fashion. Depends on the context and the intent. I have a few friends who are offended by "female" and I just never picked up on that being an offensive term. I never thought of it as only being used as an adjective, though.

[king2005]

I hear this often from Chad's mouth

Hey WOMAN get me a drink
WOMAN come here

Hes only messing around & doesn't say it often, only when he wants to pick on me.. oh wait he picks on me daily lol

[Puckstop31]

Trust me, in the military, a female soldier is a female. Not a woman/female soldier/girl/(and several other less flattering terms) but a female.

We called them "bumpy soldiers". Somehow I think that was not a good thing. LOL





Seriously now... I never really thought about it before but yes, in the military it was always "female or female soldier". It is probably the least "sexist" way to refer to a "female person". If you say the word woman the wrong way, I guess it could be taken out of context. But saying female is well, stating scientific fact. LOL

Thank you Bill Clinton for turning our warriors in "PC" nazis. I say THAT because I watched it happen as I served.

[Catty1]

ummm...interesting to see where this has gone...as long a we stop using "woman" or "women" as ADJECTIVES.

Jess - tell him to use "wench" - it's so much more quaint...

[Puckstop31]

ummm...interesting to see where this has gone...as long a we stop using "woman" or "women" as ADJECTIVES.

The "Women's Lib" movement would disagree. LOL

Jess - tell him to use "wench" - it's so much more quaint...

ROFL. That is a, errr, interesting word. Is this anything like "Marge, BEER ME!".

[Catty1]

PUck - the apostrophe on "women's" makes it a plural possessive, so it is correctly used!

I am SUCH a brat...my mom was a teacher for over 40 years, and my dad an RCMP cop....*sigh*