One trend (for lack of a better word) that I have been noticing is that women, girls, or ladies are being called females. Normally a term like this would not bother me because that's what we are, right? With physical proof, we are females. So it took me a good amount of time to figure out why people are going around and using the adjective "female" instead of the noun "woman" for example. I was never really able to put my finger on a real reason as to why it bothered me but I have finally figured it out.
If you search online the definition of the word female it says it is an adjective and it is: of or denoting the sex that can bear offspring or produce eggs, distinguished biologically by the production of gametes (ova) which can be fertilized by male gametes. Basically, the definition says that we females have the ability to reproduce. So is that what they refer to when they call us "females"? Every time I hear someone say the word "female" to refer to a woman I can truthfully say that it was never followed by anything good. More often than not when someone is referring to women as "females" it is followed by something derogatory or maybe even misogynistic.
Now hear me out, this isn't just some post saying power to women, I'm merely stating that the word "female" is being used incorrectly. Think about it, when do you hear guys being referred to as males? The only time I have heard guys being called males is if someone is being described. For example, if there is a police report on a fugitive it will include a description that has the word male to make clear who they are looking for, and it's the same for a female fugitive.
On the other hand, I have seen plenty of posts on Instagram or Facebook where the post will start off by saying "Females be like..." "Females keep doing...", etc. Those post usually are followed by something not so good about that person. To this day I have yet to see a post talking about "Males be like..." or "Males always do this..." From reading all of these "female" posts or hearing these things it is safe to say that it is being used to replace a derogatory term, and it is being sugarcoated to sound nicer.
If men are always being referred to as boys or guys why is it that women or guys use the word "female"? A female could be considered anyone or anything that can essentially produce offspring. So if you're calling someone a female you could literally be talking about anything or anyone who is of the female gender. Using the word female in a sentence is awkward and would only really be appropriate when speaking about animals or anything in science, but when it comes to a female human, the preferred noun is woman or women. Likewise, for male human, the preferred noun is man or men. I hope to have shed some light on this subject on why you should stop calling women "females", not only is it awkward in a sentence but it simply is not the correct word to use, we are women and should be referred to as women.
