Rob, Rambling

Oh Thesaurus …

I looked up “weaker” in the actual real-life Webster’s Thesaurus on my bookshelf, and there is no reference for weaker. There are however, entries for Weak, Weaken, Weakling, and Weakness, none of which draw a reference to anything even remotely feminine in nature.

So to the asshole who I won’t bother linking to who wrote the diatribe on how this thesaurus.com find shouldn’t be surprising to women because ““Weaker sex” is a perfectly good synonym for women as a whole, and has been used for centuries” - you can eat it. The phrase ‘The weaker sex” hasn’t been acceptable to use for 40 years, my friend. Saying that reference in thesaurus.com is no big deal would be like typing the word “nigger” in the search box and expecting a reference to black people. COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE.

Thesaurus.com isn’t the urban dictionary - it’s something we use to teach present and future generations how to properly use the English language, and as such it should NOT have any outdated sexist references to women.

allgrownsup

Seeing as I am that asshole, it’s been a real dilemma in my head whether to answer this or not. I figure I might as well try to put my side across once more, before I get completely vilified as a hate figure and chauvinistic bastard. I think I’m halfway there already, given the responses, emails and unfollows.

Firstly, let me ask where it came across that I personally am chauvinistic. Nowhere did I say that I agree with the phrase, that I support the sentiment, and that I use it. Read everything again. Nowhere did I say that.

The “perfectly good synonym” bit seems to have been the catalyst for all of this. And I stand by it. “Weaker sex” is a phrase which should be included in a thesaurus and dictionary of the English language. It is still used today, even if it may be offensive.

[As an aside, I note that in my google searches and reading the results therein, it seems in the majority to be female authors who are keeping the phrase alive. Usually in the context of “Why men are now the Weaker Sex”, it has to be said. Could this be in a similar manner (to maintain my example word) of the requisition of the word “nigger” by the black population, especially the younger segment? Anyways, just an observation.]

What I was calling out was the reaction to the fact that thesaurus.com has the phrase “weaker sex” under the entry for “woman”. It was overblown, inappropriate and, in the end, futile.

Futile because you can’t censor language. It simply can’t be done. We can’t ban a word from a dictionary any more than we can erase it from people’s minds. Words come and go, for various reasons.

Sometimes they fall into disuse because they are offensive (your “weaker sex”); other times they come into use because they are offensive (“queer”, to pluck one out of the ether). Some are outpaced by social changes (“communism”); others are born due to technology (“automobile”, “blog”).

My point is that the original post was overblown, massively. “Weaker sex” is a phrase that, like it or not, is still used today, by both sexes. It’s not as common as it once was, and it has taken on an offensive tone, yes, but it is still there. And it’s still a synonym for “woman”.

And yet, by pointing this out, I was subjected to personal insults, questioning me and my beliefs, and even to the point of being told that I should “ask my girlfriend” how she would feel about being called the “weaker sex”. Again, I ask where I stated that I used the phrase.

I won’t clog up the dashboard with any more posts on this subject, but I wanted to make it absolutely clear my reasoning. I don’t feel that I deserve the responses I have been getting, but what can you do. If this conversation wants to be continued, use the comments or email me.