How do you spell oppression? …maybe E-I-E-I-O. Today it almost looks like we’re down on the farm!
Let’s look at some names, shall we?
HEIFER/COW – connotation towards female: “a fat woman”
(actual meaning: a female cow who has not borne a calf/female cow)
VIXEN – connotation toward females (according to the dictionary) “a spiteful and querrelsome women” (but a google search turns up very racy photos indeed)
(actual meaning: a female fox)
SOW -connotation toward females: “a female police officer, or a degrading name for a woman”
(actual meaning: a female pig)
NANNY– connotation toward females: “a female caretaker of children”
(actual meaning: a female goat)
HEN-connotation toward females: “a gossiping woman”
(actual meaning: a female fowl)
QUEEN – common connotation: “a man behaving unmanly and defectively as a woman” (as in flamboyant homosexual male) Also used for a female monarch.
(actual meaning: a female cat)
TOM -common connotation toward females: “tomboy” a female who does not behave as expected.
(actual meaning: a male cat)
BITCH – connotation toward females: “an annoying or whining female, a disparaging name for a woman, or a person who is dominated”
(actual meaning: a female dog)
SIRE – a respectful and formal name for male royalty, such as a king.
(a male dog, or other male animal parent suitable for pure breeding)
COUGAR– connotation toward females “a sexually aggressive woman”
(actual meaning: a large wild feline)
NITTANY LION – a pedophile named Jerry Sandusky (okay that one is just a joke I heard)
MADAM: connotation toward female: “a woman in charge of prostituting women”
(actual meaning: a formal way to address a women in respect)
SIR: A polite way to refer to a man.
MISS: An unmarried woman
MISTRESS: connotation toward females: “A woman having an illicit sexual relationship”
(actual meaning: The prefix of a formal name referring to a married woman or the female head of a household. Abbreviated as Mrs.)
MISTER: A formal way of referring to a man, and sometimes used humorously. Abbreviated as Mr.
(And finally, my least favorite. Scientific studies show that this word is also typically the one men most dread being called. Seriously.)
By now, you probably have noticed some commonalities. And maybe you can even think of further examples I left out.
What surprised you most?
To me, it doesn’t seem that language favors women. Not the English one anyway.
It also seems that if a man is degraded or thought of an less than, a woman serves as a reference point of that inferiority. This is male privilege in action–every. single. day.
The standard of male as apex not only supports male dominance and heralds masculinity as the preferred societal and ontological ideal, but also works to continually degrade women as inferior. Since language is spoken everyday, every day we learn and re-learn the expectations and norms.
With many names women are highlighted as having defective qualities sexually, morally, physically and are routinely animalized (reduced to sub-man/sub-human) in a hugely disproportionate ways as compared with males. Yes?
Our language reinforces power structures and privilege, and sustains oppression. We should be honest about this. We should be aware.
People will refer to a women as a “girl” but rarely to a man as a “boy”. Plenty of other examples or preference exist.
So, now what can we do to make things better?
…how do we turn this around? I’m taking your suggestions.
Oh, and what’s with all the cat comparisons anyway, right?
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Michael Hyatt says he features the “Best Leaders” (Men) Click http://wp.me/p1g2iA-3bK