I am not a native English speaker and I have sometimes referred to people as male and female (as that is what I have been taught) but I have received some backlash in some cases, especially for the word “female”, is there some negative thought in the word which I am unaware of?

I don’t know if this is the best place to ask, if it’s not appropriate I have no problem to delete it ^^

  • Wanderer@lemm.ee
    3·
    9 months ago

    Now, you could get around it by calling someone “a female person” - except that we already have a word for “female person”, and that’s “woman”.

    We did have a word that meant that and everyone knew it. But that word has changed into something else.

      • Wanderer@lemm.ee
        3·
        9 months ago

        Female person doesn’t mean women.

        The word has changed so it’s not correct to say that.

        • 🔍🦘🛎@lemmy.worldEnglish
          9·
          9 months ago

          Unless you’re someone’s doctor, it’s almost never relevant to discuss someone’s sex. Gender is how we refer to people in most contexts, and when it’s important (e.g. discussing pregnancy) it’s not rude to make a distinction.