In the past and in scientific terms, the word “female” just meant a human of the female gender. In today’s world, boys and men would use the term female in the context of talking badly about women or classifying them down to their gender and not as a human being.

To many women, being called a “female” feels like an insult. Especially when men either use it to describe women in the context of talking badly about them or to classify every woman by their gender. “It kind of makes me feel frustrated because it feels degrading,” said Kendal Metz, a freshman here at Osbourn.

Recognized by other women, men who call women “females” seem to have some things in common.  “Most of the time they do it to get laughs and validation out of their friends,” said Kendal.  It’s quite common for people with low self-esteem to seek validation in anyone other than themselves; in this case, it’s men. “Men seeking validation from other men is just plain childish. The fact that you would bring down a woman just to make yourself appear a certain way to other men is ridiculous,” said Gabriella Madison, a freshman here at Osbourn.

Although men who call women “females” don’t seem to call men “males.” When asked why, they don’t seem to have a reason. “No cause, I just never do,” said Anthony Garcia, a freshman here at Osbourn who has said he does call women “females”. Many can see that if the roles were reversed and women were to call men “males” to classify them, men would be equally upset or uncomfortable by the use of the word.

Just like other lingo, it comes from someone else’s mouth. With the rise of social media and this generation’s fixation on it, kids are most easily influenced by what they see and hear on their screens. Since Covid-19 the rise of streamers has been excessive, with everyone home, everyone was cozied up with their phones watching IShowSpeed, Kai Cenat, DDG, Lacy, and others. Now, many still watch said streamers, though maybe not as much as they used to when they were trapped in their homes. “I barely watch streamers, but I see clips of IShowSpeed,” said Anthony.

These streamers have huge platforms that get a lot of recognition from young boys. According to Twitch Usage and Growth Statistics, Twitch users are 63% male, 37% female, and 73% of users are under 35 years old. These streamers are also known to not be the most cordial when streaming. Most can’t help but wonder about the influence of these disrespectful streamers on young boys. “Kai Cenat is toxic towards young boys because of the people he surrounds himself with, and the way he talks about other girls and people is very disrespectful,” said Kendal. Or maybe they don’t influence young boys so easily. “Streamers don’t influence the way I talk, I get my lingo from my friends,” said Anthony. But where do their friends get it from? And their friends? It all can lead to the influence of social media and/or streamers. 

After losing a game in one of his streams, IShowSpeed then “crashes out” and starts yelling and cursing at his opponents. When one of his opponents, who happens to be a woman, starts yelling at Speed for being a sore loser, Speed then gets angry at the fact that a woman was trying to argue with him over the game. But in his words, he called her a “female”.

The question some are dying to hear is why do these men call women females? I may have covered who may influence the language upon these young boys, and how they use the word in contexts, but why do they choose “female”? “I prefer to call women ‘females’ because that’s what they are. Are you a woman? No, you’re a female. You’re gonna be a woman someday,” said Kingsley Smith, a freshman here at Osbourn. Where he may be focusing on the basic definition of the word “female” and not the connotation, which is the attitude behind it.

If you agree or disagree with my opinion, let me know in the comments. Do you think this use of the word “female” is correct? Share your experience with the word.