Poll: the word "chick"?

[Thanato5]

women are not chicks... they are birds at least in the UK

 

[Evilsanta]

I rarely use it.

Though i can't see why it is offensive.

 

[FrostyChick]

I think my username about sums up my feelings on the subject.

But then again, I am a believer that context, not content, is what makes something offensive. >.>
And anyone who says differently deserves a slap. -.-'

 

[Vykrel]

i use it a lot, but not in front of a girl. i dont point at them and say "that chick" or anything like that.

imo, its the same as if a girl calls a guy "dude". no problem with it

you know what i really hate? i hate that when some girls in school dont know your name and they need something, they say "Hey, kid..." i cant stand that. it just sounds so snooty

 

[MassiveGeek]

Why the heck would it be offensive?
I am chick. And personally I don't see an issue with it. Just like guys are refered to as "hunks" and stuff.
It's just a word, and it's not even used in context of being an insult from what I've ever seen. Stop whining, for christs sake(refering to people who react strongly to words like this).

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

I don't use it because I use 'bird' instead.

Whenever someone tries to correct me I switch to the far more misogynistic 'gash'... of course why people try to correct me on that when I use '****' as a replacement for 'person' is beyond me.

Awww, you're so cute and endearing when you're angry. I just want to pet you.

That would work better if you posted it after something where I was angry.

And I'm always cute and endearing.

 

[Denamic]

It's the equivalent of 'dude'.
I don't see why it would be offensive.

 

[Labyrinth]

What's your opinion on the use of the word to referr to a girl?

"Girl" is a very specific type of female of the human species, namely aged between 3 and 12. The top number is variable depending on the subject in question. As for the word itself, I find it inherently irritating. A lead up to "Hen", really, but made to be patronising because of the juvernile part.

My problem with the bird analogies, this includes "bird" itself, is that they always carry connotations of bird-brained silliness. Not to mention pecking orders. I can't say I like associating these with women, of whatever age.

It's not offensive. anyone who is "offended" by being called a chick, is just a feminist out of control looking for a reason to argue and spout her feminist rant. A word is nothing more than a vocal medium to convey meaning, therefore it is the meaning which is important, not the word used to convey that meaning. Considering that most people use "chick" to mean a woman, therefore, it is no more offensive than the word woman. If it is used to convey a condecension, or an insult, then that meaning is offensive, but this is not a condemnation of the word in general. many "politically correct" words can be used mockingly or as an outright insult, that doesn't mean that the word is itself insulting.
Words are very much like ideas in that the only people who fear them are small minded people.

Is that so, pig?

I mean, you won't mind me calling you that. It's just a word, isn't it? Just a vocal medium to convey meaning. I can't see any pig who uses 'chick' to refer to women having an issue. I only mean it as a generalised word for 'male human'. That okay with you pigs?

What words mean is inherently linked to their connotations. This is why "******" has become an insult rather than referring to a piece of wood. We don't call men "baby", or at least no woman I know does. We don't call you.. I don't know, I don't think 'pig' is a suitable slang comparison to 'chick', because while it has connotations of filth and gluttony, pigs are actually very intelligent creatures. I detailed my issues with chick above. Perhaps you could consider them a reasoned opinion and consider why we have an issue with it rather than simply dismissing our concerns.

I also think it's quite telling that we don't have similar slang for men. "Guys" doesn't have negative connotations, unless you consider an effigy burnt at the stake of Guy Fawks. Hmmm...

Edit: It's worth adding that I dislike words like "chick" and "dude" because they sound so horribly juvenile to use. Unless it's "chick" in reference to a baby bird, anyway.

 

[5mj7R7yf4Dwr3gdZyyu9PeGNwYjlNrjzuh3iTXQG]

Chick originally was slang for child, was picked up in the late 1920s to mean a young woman, and made cool by Beatniks in the late '50s. Considering its common in rural cultures for animal terms to be used to describe humans (usually ones that share a similar quality), it probably is far less derisive than than is assumed in the current era.

Myself, being one who is rather pedantic, when I refer to a chick, I'm usually referring to an incidence of The Smurfette Principle [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheChick].

 

[zombiejoe]

I don't really use it that much...who does anymore?

It sounds weird to me. But I don't have a problem with it.



But I do love Chicks Galore

[img/]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090523150425/ed/images/thumb/3/39/Chiskc.jpg/185px-Chiskc.jpg[/img]

 

[lettucethesallad]

I'm a girl, and I say chick all the time. I don't see the offensive part about it. Much like being called 'bird' in the UK - not a biggie.

 

[DragonsAteMyMarbles]

Given that the word isn't usually used to refer to those of the human race with two X-chromosomes around where I grew up, I don't use it.

I usually use "girl" (or, if I've been drinking, "ladygirl") when referring to females of my age group or younger - because the ones I know are almost invariably students, so the inherent implications of immaturityYay alliteration! do have some truth to them.


"Woman", to me, implies a degree of maturity and adultness (as does "man" - you'd never catch me referring to myself as anything other than "bloke", "guy" or "shortarse"), so I usually use it to refer to females in their thirties or older.
"Lady" just gets me punched for being a patronising arsebag.

 

[warprincenataku]

I prefer to use the word, 'bird' when refering to people of the opposite sex.

 

[jamesworkshop]

I have no opinion on the word it's simply not part of my social groups vocab, and Bird is a more british term than chick(s)

 

[neoontime]

Well, It's pretty much just the "dude" version of a girl so I don't see how it's offensive.

 

[Con Carne]

I never knew chick was offensive. I say it frequently and no one cares. I also use broad.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Women are not chicks. I use the word Chick to refer to my young. Anything else just gets confusing.

<img height=250>http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/earth/naturelibrary/assets/characters/0/9/diary/chick_14_06_10.jpg

*Cheep*

 

[smithy_2045]

What's wrong with calling chicks chicks?