Are we Females or Women?

[Shelacious]

For anyone who cares to provide input:

I have noticed more of my friends and associates in casual conversation exchange the word "female" for the word "woman" or "lady". (For example: "I saw this fly female"...or "...these three young females saw the need to...") Yesterday, when I saw a similar such phrase on the history portion of a budding sorority's website, I felt the need to pose the question.

Female describes gender and is appropriate for any gendered animal (dog, cow, horse, human) but woman or lady are uniquely human. Therefore, it seems to be a questionable trend to substitute female for woman or lady, but I hear/see it fairly often.

What are your thoughts? Does it matter? Why do people do it? Is it a generational issue or just a fad?

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Finer Womanhood: the "Cat's Meow" Since 1920