Gosh, I love DS9

No it isn't. No one can take away your personhood unless you give them that power. Besides what do you care if some a-hole somewhere says something stupid? I hate to break it to you but there's 7 billion people on the world Kathrin, you are going to be offended sometimes. The only thing in your control is your reaction to it.

I was born a queer Roma in Eastern Europe, and this discussion reminds me of something I’ve experienced there. In the early '00s, it became inappropriate to call us "Gypsy", and similar etiquette was expected when addressing LGBTQ+ people. The far-right quickly adapted, dropping all inappropriate language while remaining just as hateful and chauvinistic. Their "civilized" vocabulary allowed their messages to reach more people effectively. People began quoting their racist propaganda publicly, but it became harder to call them out. The "forbidden" words provided them with an enormous amount of ammunition to complain. They could switch between being the "victim" and acting "tough", depending on which attitude generated more votes. What used to be a marginal ideology has now become mainstream because it’s harder to spot the hick in a tuxedo.

Graham, really good point.

Good point. Thanks for that.

Calling someone male or female instead of man or woman doesn't necessarily imply disrespect. That was my point. If you want to rely on semantics to feel justified in your outrage that is your business. Being offended by something that isn't innately offensive makes the cause of equality less meaningfully. You do you though. I'd rather save my anger at misandry and misogyny for better causes as to not discredit myself by looking for reasons to be offended.

The words male and female are scientific terms in origin. F**k the incels don't let them steal words... It is all about intent! It is WHO is using what word for WHAT purpose... There are languages out there with only two terms for man or a woman... Male or Female. Soo... Why is it hot garbage take? What michel is saying makes sense to me. If i am missing something share it please.

Ohh boy you would not belive the incels out there in all sexes and genders. The woman incels do use male too as a derogatory term. And comparisons with animals just like man incels do. They are a pathetic bunch. I have been on online spaces that have lots of guy incels. On BP it is the opposite. I have had to deal with ppl here thinking i am subhuman cus i have a penis and telling me all sorts of things like how i am a dangerous animals. I dunno how incels become sexist to the extreme like that... Echo chamber? Project sadness? Abuse tuned into vengeful hatred? Either way they are equally sad and dangerous.

They get that way by looking for reasons to be offended in everything they read or hear That and the anonymity that the internet provides. I too have experienced what you describe, anything you say that they don't agree with makes you an instant target to be accused of being "part of the patriarchy". They parrot real feminists who fought real issues without understanding what it is they are even saying. It's frustrating because I support equality very sincerely.

I get where you're coming from, @Michael, and as I mentioned above, I’ve also experienced the backlash from placing too much emphasis on etiquette while overlooking the underlying intent and context. However, we need to deescalate the discussion. People are angry for a reason, and we can’t have a constructive conversation without approaching each other with empathy. It frustrates me as well when I see people repeating the same missteps that have only strengthened the far-right in the past. Focusing on the words instead of the root problem might be counterproductive, but calling people out on that is still just focusing on the words, only from a different angle. If the word "female" isn’t the core issue, address the real problem rather than extending the debate further over the word.

I guess it just bothers me because looking for reasons to be mad is disingenuous and turns away people who might be on the fence about the issues at hand. I hate it when people say "well she's just mad at the world" and then someone like this person above comes out and proves that statement to be right.

Yeh sexism is bad in all forms I always call it out without a care for the mental gymnastics they wanna pull to make me hate men or women or anything that is not a bad choice ppl make. I think it does slowly help some incels see the mirror.

That is what I am asking and getting downvoted for. These ppl don't like couples forming or what? Cus to me that is normal human behaviour.