a lot more than M/W it seems, so maybe I'm biased bc that's where I've seen female used the most (none of the black men I've known use 'females' in the manner described in the OP... that said, some African men can refer to a woman as "Woman!" instead of her name, which gives off a vibe similar to what's being described in this post lol).

But ya, in study context (and most others, to me personally) 'female' being used as an adjective (eg. comparing male and female study subjects) doesn't read negatively to me at all. Especially since the term can be used for different age groups.

I can see the negative connotations everyone's talking about if its used as a noun tho (although I don't encounter it much, like I said). For example in the folowing exclamations:


"I can't believe the US elected it's first female VP!"

"I can't believe the VP is female!"

"I can't believe a female is VP!"


^the last one does kinda give off a different vibe than the first two (in a negative/displeased way)



>Personally I think referring to women as females is dodgy as
>hell, but as an adjective it serves a purpose and seems
>innocuous to me most of the time.
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