It's a Man's World

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hmm. I wonder too. I use it to refer to guys too, but I know it can be used for either. . . . more on this later.

about bastard? I often think of it being applied to men rather than women. Although perhaps in view of pamelad's comment, it's perjorative because of the mother's actions.

Maybe there are so many pejorative terms for female promiscuity because of the fear in times past that if the wife was not "pure" a man's heir might not be his own child. Purdah, chastity belts. In a local court case a suspicious father had the kids' DNA tested then took his wife to court to get back the money he'd paid out in child support, and disowned the kids.

Thanks chained_bear! I agree that dickhead does not necessarily impugn the morals of the subject; I think it can, though not in the same way slut does. Also, I don't use it to mean "one who thinks with his penis." Curious who uses it to mean exactly that.

I already listed cocksucker and am glad someone mentioned the issue of sex. I tend to think this refers more to a woman sucking than a gay man. I think I'll add suck my dick to the list, especially as I've heard women use the phrase. I know this list aims to level the playing field, but that phrase is bad enough coming from a guy and is even worse from a woman. C_B, wouldn't, then, sucking be a positive action? I think fuck it or fuck you fits with your point though.

Oh! I just remembered the notorious suck it from the WWF (WWE).

Again, I truly don't think of anything negative when I hear bitchin'. And there are various explanations of balls to the wall. A couple can be found here.

Abraxas, long ago I decided to substitute "ovaries" for "balls" in the often-positive phrase, "that took some balls," and in calling men who sleep around "whores" or "sluts" to de-genderize those terms. People always give me weird looks, or even argue with me that it isn't possible for men to be sluts--after all, all it means is promiscuous--which I find patently ridiculous. I think you're right that often the feminine term is meant to be negative, so thanks for making this list and initiating the discussion!

Family jewels has no feminine equivalent, suggesting that the real source of pride in familial units is not the womb--that's a bit jaundiced, don't you think? And don't forget cocksucker, which is negative no matter what the gender of the person doing the sucking. In fact "sucks" itself is a negative--making sexual relations possibly the only area of life in which receiving is perceived as negative and powerless, while giving is positive and powerful.

Pamelad's suggestion is a good one--dickhead is definitely male, and definitely negative. However, it suggests one who thinks with his penis, and doesn't impugn the morals of the subject in any way--unlike most female-negative terms.

"Bitchin'" is interesting--I view it not as the exception that proves the rule, but of the tendency for slang terms to *sound* negative when they mean the opposite--hence, "the shit" is good. In the case of "bitchin'" I would suggest that it does call to mind the negative, even though it means positive.

What does "balls to the wall" refer to? I did not know it has no testicular connotation.

Wanker, tool

Acceptable vulgarisms are the point! Granted, it makes a world of difference if the original meaning is completely obscured. It'll go in the appendix, but does little to balance the scales. Thanks.

A bit tenuous, but continues the stupidity theme.

A load of cobblers

Meaning

Nonsense, rubbish.

Origin
This is a classic of Cockney rhyming slang. It originates from cobblers' awls, which are the pointed hand-tools that cobblers use to pierce holes in leather. The rhyme is with balls, or testicles.

The phrase is often reduced just to cobblers, which is now considered an acceptable vulgarism, as many may not be aware of its origin.

I had never heard that one pamelad. I looked it up and found this: Oddly, in British English it is not these days a vulgarism, or at least only a very mild one. It comes from one of several senses of cock, to bend at an angle, as in — for example — cocking a gun or turning up the brim of one’s headgear (so producing an old-time naval officer’s cocked hat).

The use of cock-up to mean a blunder or error was originally British military slang dating from the 1920s. The slang sense of cock clearly had a lot to do with its adoption, but this hasn’t stopped it being used in respectable publications, and modern British dictionaries mark it merely as informal or colloquial.

I'm including it in the appendix because I think what matters is how people conceive a word. balls to the wall, for instance, has nothing to do with testicles, but that's what a lot of people think of.

Cock up - to make a mess of something

Thanks, those are going in the Appendix!

Dickheads and dickwits are stupid men. Do they count as male-oriented words describing the negative?

I like Wordie because it can help you wrap your mind around the way words are used. This list is similar to my "too many faggot scenes" list, only this issue has been plaguing me for a lot longer. I would never classify myself as a feminist, but would perhaps call myself a Post-Feminist.

I've noticed an unsettling tendency (in men and women) of using male-oriented terms to describe something positive, while female-oriented words describe the negative. There are exceptions, such as bitchin', but I think the exceptions are few. Maybe I'm wrong. Help me list and define words and phrases with a male bent. If there are exceptions, they'll go in a new list.

Also, I'd love to hear any insight you have as to why this occurs.