Why is calling a man "woman" an insult but telling a woman she's a "man" a compliment?

LeJacquelope · 2018-10-17T22:45:54+00:00

ROTFLMAO calling a woman "mannish" is a common insult bordering on fighting words. Try it some time. Wear a hockey mask while you do it, though.

"Yo momma wears army boots..."

GridReXX · 2018-10-17T23:09:38+00:00

I find that men bristle at any inference that they possess "feminine qualities." Even if it's a positive quality -- compassionate, peacemaking, caring, etc. It immediately triggers their "emasculation" lizard brain. Masculinity is created. So any affront to it is damaging to their identity and sends them into existential crisis.

It also doesn't help their internal panic that many women tend to not find men who are "too soft" sexually attractive. Not that being feminine equals being "beta," but the Venn Diagram isn't in favor.

On the other side of this, women can get away with acting like an uber butch lesbian and a man is still going to want to fuck her and some even marry her! So panning her "behavior" or "frame" isn't really the best way to alter her actions.

Hence women aren't offended if someone says their "approach to something" is masculine. All that really means to her is that she's getting shit done tbh.

That said femme women do not appreciate being told they look manly or mannish. Telling a woman who loves looking and presenting femininely and beautifully that she "looks" like a man is how you crush her soul. Now congrats, you've sent that chick into her own existential crisis. Why? Because men and the world treat ugly women like incel men -- unnoticed, unfavored, unloved, undesired, etc.

tl;dr

It all links back to what makes us desirable or undesirable.

daveofmars · 2018-10-18T00:46:46+00:00

What makes you think calling a woman a man is a complement?

If I were to call any woman Sir or Mister then she'd probably get pissed.

But calling anyone dude, bro, man, or guy is just a casual colloquialism and is mostly perceived as gender-neutral, because we as a culture, especially the younger generation, use those terms to refer to anyone regardless of sex.

tiposk · 2018-10-17T22:30:36+00:00

Because femininity is considered to be inferior. A man being called girly, womanly or feminine is considered a downgrade.

legaladvicequest · 2018-10-17T22:17:00+00:00

Simple answer: sexism.

KikiYuyu · 2018-10-17T22:22:02+00:00

Sexist stereotypes, basically. Calling a man a woman is basically calling him weak, fickle, or over-emotional. Calling a woman a man is calling her tough and strong.

[deleted] · 2018-10-18T07:31:46+00:00

Cuz feminine is just another word for useless.

JezebeltheQueen5656 · 2018-10-19T18:16:04+00:00

because being a woman is being a lesser being. it's rooted in misogyny.

being compared to a woman, or even worse, being called a woman is insulting.

just as being called a worm (lesser than a human) is insulting.

men who do that perpetuate misogyny.

Orange_Paisley · 2018-10-17T22:36:24+00:00

It isn't necessarily a compliment. If you are calling her tough or strong, it can be a compliment. But if you are calling her butch or manly or whatever to imply a lack of femininity, it is an insult.

[deleted] · 2018-10-17T22:37:25+00:00

because it's OK for women to be feminine or masculine. It's better for a woman to be feminine, but she can be more masculine than feminine and still not be penalized for it.

Men can be only masculine, never feminine. Men are simply not allowed to be feminine, unless they are twinks in the gay community.

ThorLives · 2018-10-17T23:27:26+00:00

I think that historically men and women looked up to their own gender, but feminism fucked with that and convinced girls (and boys) that masculinity is the only acceptable end-goal (edit: for women).

Be tough, be rich, be a CEO, you go giirrrrrlll-isms are fine in themselves, but they had to simultaneously denigrate roles and characteristics that have always been women's. When mainstream feminism/culture deems femininity a defect, the only option becomes to compete with men to be men. Women try to be men, we suck at it, and men start treating women as half-baked men and competition.

Of course "you fight like a girl" is going to be an insult. There shouldn't even be a comparison there, but by deleting positive feminity it all gets messed up.

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[deleted] · 2018-10-17T23:18:22+00:00

"I can't believe he called that guy a pussy! Using female body parts as a shaming tactic is so sexist!! What a dick!"

mistercheeez-o____O- · 2018-10-17T23:50:17+00:00

Women are turned off by emasculated men (negative).

Men find effeminate men annoying (negative).

Women find resourceful women admirable (positive).

Men find resourceful women less annoying than non-resourceful women (close enough to positive).

Pope_Lucious · 2018-10-18T00:43:05+00:00

Because women are assumed to be “soft” and to possess hypoagency. If they are better than this, then great, but it isn’t required.

Men are viewed as pathetic losers if they aren’t useful.

Kwangira · 2018-10-18T06:01:33+00:00

It's simple. Women are undoubtedly the inferior sex in every respect. It's like being called a chimp or a dog if a man is called a woman.

SerpentCypher · 2018-10-18T06:37:35+00:00

It isn't. I think women that think this are living in fantasy world. No woman I know would take "man" or being compared to men in general as a compliment. It's an insult, saying she's unfeminine and not desirable. Funnily enough, just like how calling a guy a woman is calling him unmasculine and unattractive, because women are attracted to masculine men.

Every woman here knows this too, they may claim otherwise but that's only so they can claim "muh sexism".

HossMcDank · 2018-10-18T11:04:36+00:00

but telling a woman she's a "man" a compliment?

I have never, not once, heard of this being the case.

LittleGanymede · 2018-10-18T16:36:29+00:00

Because a man isn't just a person with a penis. A man is what he does. Women are valued by society for simply existing and having a womb. Men are valued for what they do. By calling women a "man" it's a compliment because it's implied that her actions are being celebrated and not just her existence.

The reason this is the case is probably the same reason that there is the idea of what a "real man" is but no one talks about what a "real woman" is outside of debates about transgenderism.

platinummattagain · 2018-10-18T16:57:29+00:00

It's not? If you call a woman a man she'll get mad and you and be sad about looking/acting manly

ratsparadedarapstar · 2018-10-18T22:18:05+00:00

It’s simply based on the antiquated perception that males are stronger or more powerful than women by default. That perception is based on a history of gender inequality (women having fewer rights back in the day for employment, voting, independence). In a society where your rights equal that of a child, it’s not surprising that the idea of “the weaker sex,” is perpetuated by their assigned caregivers.

Hell, even ignorance about our own bodies perpetuated it. Women used to be told they’d rupture their uterus if they lifted heavy objects or tried to do push-ups. Women were, by & large, even physically weaker back then as a result. I consider this when I think of little boys taunting one another during a game of stickball. ”C’mon, you throw like a girl!”
Girls back when that phrase first fell from a child’s mouth were probably all horrible at pitching, due to ignorance placing limitations on their physical activities, and societal norms dictating what sort of play is suitable for them based on their vagina.

I can kind of see where that sort of phrasing and perception came from. It’s as silly and pointless as the obsolete description of, “hanging up” a phone.

Title	Why is calling a man "woman" an insult but telling a woman she's a "man" a compliment?
Author	adool444
Upvotes	3
Comments	74
Date	October 17, 2018 10:12 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/9p37hj/why_is_calling_a_man_woman_an_insult_but_telling/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/why-is-calling-a-man-woman-an-insult-but-telling-a.259406 https://theredarchive.com/post/259406

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