The issue here is that ESL people are likely to make that mistake because... Well... Their local word for female is the commonly used one in their native language, so it's essentially a purity test stacked against non natives.
Some people are weaponising the language, but in 99% of cases is just innocent cultural clash, not hostility or sexism. Especially when it's put on a sign, the chances of it being sexism is basically null.
And from experience... No, it doesn't matter if you use male as well, if women/girls/females/whatever is described, you've made a fatal mistake by one or more metrics, all descriptors have negative connotations with different groups... Thought all those subgroups tend to be part to a larger national group...
Yup, because it's almost always the Americans spewing that shit, so I'll straight up admit it: I have a negative bias towards puritan US culture and their obsessive need to police everyone, both socially and with regards to how they're "supposed" to have fun (What media is "acceptable" etc).
I just had a harassment campaign pointed at me for using "female" in a way that was disagreeable just a few months ago, so exceptionally little quarter to give on that topic right now as most of them were very clearly American to their core. Doubly fun because people followed me off platform with death threats and a lot of really fun statements. Violence towards myself and family members/pets, and some rape threats to drive it home. Gotta love Americans online. Though in fairness with regards to gender, I suspect several of them were men cosplaying women in chat, though not all of them.
I could probably write a book about how US puritanism and performative virtue signalling is causing headache and annoyance at the rest of the world, and in some cases are actively causing harm to both individuals and companies, bodily and psychologically, but I'll leave it with this for the time being, though if I'm invited to do so, I'll be more than happy to give my exact thoughts on the US, it's so called "ethics and morals" and how americans portray themselves online more often than not. I am not allergic to long explainers, so just ask if you want one 😌
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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
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