Words or phrases that annoy you

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

Well if it was just one guy I'd dated I'd write it off to insecurity, but it's pretty much all of them.

lol
That's because you keep choosing the same kind of guys. So, it's really not them, it's you.

Originally Posted by MysticCat

And in the world of dog people, and in English.

Using "the B word" to refer to a woman = rude and offensive (alhough some people might say not always).

Using "the B word" to refer to a female dog = correct and appropriate. Avoiding it in this context looks like finding offense where none is presumed by definition, none is intended and none is conveyed.

Huh?? I know what it is. I already said it's approriate in my post. I said in vet medicine. The last time I checked (in the clinics I've worked in), that's "where there are dog people" and "where we all speak English". I just don't like the word. I prefer to use "female dog". Neither way is wrong.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Huh?? I know what it is. I already said it's approriate in my post. I said in vet medicine. The last time I checked (in the clinics I've worked in), that's "where there are dog people" and "where we all speak English". I just don't like the word. I prefer to use "female dog". Neither way is wrong.

I know all that. (And when I said "where there are dog people," I was thinking more about shows/competitions.) People, of course, do speak English outside vet clinics.

I just think it's . . . odd? . . . for someone who deals with animals professionally to avoid the word just because, in other contexts and used with reference to a human, it would be offensive.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I just think it's . . . odd? . . . for someone who deals with animals professionally to avoid the word just because, in other contexts and used with reference to a human, it would be offensive.

Well, if you find it odd, then, okay.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Well, if you find it odd, then, okay.

I hate it too. Whenever I watch dog competitions and they say that, i'm just like really? You can't come up with a better name for a female dog?

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by epchick

I hate it too. Whenever I watch dog competitions and they say that, i'm just like really? You can't come up with a better name for a female dog?

But the insult came from the name. I mean women are called bitches as a degrading insult because female dogs are called bitches. Men are called bitches because the speaker considers being female to be an insult. (Or just participates in the sexist language, YMMV)

If you create another name for a female dog, what're the odds that it wouldn't become an insult too?

[epchick]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

But the insult came from the name. I mean women are called bitches as a degrading insult because female dogs are called bitches. Men are called bitches because the speaker considers being female to be an insult. (Or just participates in the sexist language, YMMV)

If you create another name for a female dog, what're the odds that it wouldn't become an insult too?

Ahh true. Yeah I knew the insult came from the name, but i didn't think that if they changed the name, that the insult would change too.

They could just say "the girl" or something instead of "the bitch." lol

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by epchick

Ahh true. Yeah I knew the insult came from the name, but i didn't think that if they changed the name, that the insult would change too.

They could just say "the girl" or something instead of "the bitch." lol

Yeah I mean think about the things women are called, cow, sow or pig, bitch, brood-mare... The whole point is the animal comparison.

In some ways it's a good thing that they don't change the name, it's just jarring to hear. I don't know, I say bitch myself so I'm not really claiming moral superiority on the issue. *habits I know I should work on, but haven't*

[epchick]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Many animals have a sex but only humans have a gender.

Well yes, because gender is a human construct.

Regardless of the gender/sex debate (cause I've had enough of it in college), I still think there could be a different way to address a female dog. I don't find it offensive, I just don't like the word.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

But the insult came from the name. I mean women are called bitches as a degrading insult because female dogs are called bitches.

FWIW, bitch (as used for a woman) originally meant a very sexual woman -- the comparison was to a female dog in heat. The usage dates back 5 or more centuries, and the connotation has, of course, changed.

I completely understand the offense taken at the word when used regarding a woman. What I have trouble with is avoiding the word with regard to dogs, which seems like an overreaction. In a way, it reminds me a little of the kids who laugh when someone says "Uranus."

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

FWIW, bitch (as used for a woman) originally meant a very sexual woman -- the comparison was to a female dog in heat. The usage dates back 5 or more centuries, and the connotation has, of course, changed.

I completely understand the offense taken at the word when used regarding a woman. What I have trouble with is avoiding the word with regard to dogs, which seems like an overreaction. In a way, it reminds me a little of the kids who laugh when someone says "Uranus."

Ah, makes sense and I might even have known that. But I think for most people it's not offense but just a bit jarring, since you don't otherwise hear that word on TV, and you just don't think about it in that context until it is said.