As for the alternate female references, I counted the following...
I could exclude 19 because they referred to fantasy creatures. (Of which 6 were not necessarily female anyway)
20 were comments on their social or sexual status (all of which I would consider chauvinistically ill-advised)
9 could be excused unless the woman in question actually bore said title. (In which case the proper form of address would be "Her Majesty/Grace/Honor", etc.)
5 were occupations. Only good if they were so engaged.
9 were simply variants on 'she' or 'female' in varying languages. That's cheating.
5 are comparisons to animals, or precious materials. Not so good.
According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, 6 aren't actually words.
That leaves us with female, or figurine, and calling someone an inanimate object is insulting. :)
(BTW, is it just me, or does 'Femorette' sound like a member of a forgettable '60s girl band?)
Heh, true. Sounds to me like a patch one applies just after breaking up with someone to help 'kick the habit'. It beats chewing gum after all.
no subject
As for the alternate female references, I counted the following...
I could exclude 19 because they referred to fantasy creatures. (Of which 6 were not necessarily female anyway)
20 were comments on their social or sexual status (all of which I would consider chauvinistically ill-advised)
9 could be excused unless the woman in question actually bore said title. (In which case the proper form of address would be "Her Majesty/Grace/Honor", etc.)
5 were occupations. Only good if they were so engaged.
9 were simply variants on 'she' or 'female' in varying languages. That's cheating.
5 are comparisons to animals, or precious materials. Not so good.
According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, 6 aren't actually words.
That leaves us with female, or figurine, and calling someone an inanimate object is insulting. :)
(BTW, is it just me, or does 'Femorette' sound like a member of a forgettable '60s girl band?)
Heh, true. Sounds to me like a patch one applies just after breaking up with someone to help 'kick the habit'. It beats chewing gum after all.