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HelpRe: Ursula
in reply to a message by Billina
Well, the meaning "she-bear" is neat, and the legend about the princess returning from a pilgrimage gives it some ambiance, but the sound of the name is so frumpy, ugly, and dated that not even Ursula Le Guin can save it. It has a similar hag feel as names like Bertha, Fatima, Maud, Myrtle, and Agatha.
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The word "hag" bothers the heck out of me, because there is no equivalent male term, except maybe "geezer". Well, actually, it bothers me because right-wingers call Hillary Clinton and now Nancy Pelosi a "hag", while they never call any male politician of equivalent age and level of unattractiveness due to age a "geezer", even if it's a left-wing Democratic male politician.
Then there's "harpy." Ugh.
Then there's "harpy." Ugh.
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There are plenty of ‘hag’ descriptions for men:
Geezer
fogy
Codger
Coot
Gaffer
Old fart - used by old men to criticize other old men as sticks in the mud.
Crank - I’ve only heard this used to describe men.
I’ve heard Democrat’s refer to old conservatives as fossils, which seems very ageist.
Geezer
fogy
Codger
Coot
Gaffer
Old fart - used by old men to criticize other old men as sticks in the mud.
Crank - I’ve only heard this used to describe men.
I’ve heard Democrat’s refer to old conservatives as fossils, which seems very ageist.
This message was edited 1/20/2019, 7:49 AM
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If this post looked screwy to you, read it again. I fixed it
Of the terms listed by molly, I have also seen "crone", "harridan", and "shrew" (very frequently) used by right-wingers to describe Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, in addition to "hag" and "harpy."
This has interested me, so I took the time to look up the dictionary definitions of every term we've discussed:
Hag: An ugly, slatternly, or evil-looking old woman
Harpy: A shrewish woman
Termagant: An overbearing or nagging woman
Virago: A loud, overbearing woman
Crone: A cruel or ugly old woman
Harridan: An ill-tempered, scolding woman
Fishwife: A vulgar, abusive woman
Shrew: An ill-tempered, scolding woman
Geezer: A queer, odd, or eccentric person: used especially of elderly men
Fogy: A person with old-fashioned ideas
Codger: An often mildly eccentric and usually elderly fellow
Coot: A harmless, simple person
Gaffer: An old man
Crank: An annoyingly eccentric person. Also: A bad-tempered person
Fossil: A person whose views are outmoded.
You see two things here. Every definition in the first set specifies the word applies only to a woman. Only one in the second set specifies that the word applies only to a man, and another says it "especially" does. **** ETA:**** Another says "fellow" so this point is shaky lol.
The other thing is that the definitions in the first set are far more negative. "Cruel", "ugly", "evil-looking", "vulgar", "abusive", "overbearing" as opposed to "queer", "odd", "old-fashioned" "mildly eccentric", "harmless", "simple". Only the definition of "crank" contains the words "bad-tempered" and that's one of two definitions.
Also, notice how many of the definitions in the first set put a negative meaning on a woman's spoken word. "Overbearing or nagging", "scolding", "abusive", "loud". Also notice "ugly" twice and "slatternly".
The negative terms for females and males aren't really comparable. And when the words in the first set are used against female politicians, they are used to imply that when a woman seeks and/or gains power by speaking, she is making herself into something loathsome, and by implying also that she is "ugly" and "slatternly" it promotes the idea that a woman is worth only what she looks like, or more often, what men think of her appearance.
Of the terms listed by molly, I have also seen "crone", "harridan", and "shrew" (very frequently) used by right-wingers to describe Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, in addition to "hag" and "harpy."
This has interested me, so I took the time to look up the dictionary definitions of every term we've discussed:
Hag: An ugly, slatternly, or evil-looking old woman
Harpy: A shrewish woman
Termagant: An overbearing or nagging woman
Virago: A loud, overbearing woman
Crone: A cruel or ugly old woman
Harridan: An ill-tempered, scolding woman
Fishwife: A vulgar, abusive woman
Shrew: An ill-tempered, scolding woman
Geezer: A queer, odd, or eccentric person: used especially of elderly men
Fogy: A person with old-fashioned ideas
Codger: An often mildly eccentric and usually elderly fellow
Coot: A harmless, simple person
Gaffer: An old man
Crank: An annoyingly eccentric person. Also: A bad-tempered person
Fossil: A person whose views are outmoded.
You see two things here. Every definition in the first set specifies the word applies only to a woman. Only one in the second set specifies that the word applies only to a man, and another says it "especially" does. **** ETA:**** Another says "fellow" so this point is shaky lol.
The other thing is that the definitions in the first set are far more negative. "Cruel", "ugly", "evil-looking", "vulgar", "abusive", "overbearing" as opposed to "queer", "odd", "old-fashioned" "mildly eccentric", "harmless", "simple". Only the definition of "crank" contains the words "bad-tempered" and that's one of two definitions.
Also, notice how many of the definitions in the first set put a negative meaning on a woman's spoken word. "Overbearing or nagging", "scolding", "abusive", "loud". Also notice "ugly" twice and "slatternly".
The negative terms for females and males aren't really comparable. And when the words in the first set are used against female politicians, they are used to imply that when a woman seeks and/or gains power by speaking, she is making herself into something loathsome, and by implying also that she is "ugly" and "slatternly" it promotes the idea that a woman is worth only what she looks like, or more often, what men think of her appearance.
This message was edited 1/20/2019, 9:09 AM
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Don't forget termagant, virago, crone, harridan, shrew, fishwife... ;) There are countless insulting names for women. I don't mind the idea of being a termagant, though.
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Termagant is definitely a compliment.
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