Proud to be called a female

 In Letters, Opinion

Editor: 

Re: Editorial, “Reclaim the word female”, Jan. 11 edition, pg. 4.

Good day to all. Sixteen-year-old female student Yael here, writing to you from the kitchen. 

I felt it was necessary to introduce myself as such since the name I was given isn’t really clear as to being feminine or masculine. I realized this when I participated in an online course where my teacher had called me a ‘he’ in my report card. I guess in print I come across as boisterous – typically a male trait (heavy on the boi). No offense taken on my part. 

I can see how those who wrote about Kim Campbell’s comments in Newsweek wanted to eliminate such confusion. To be completely honest, I would not know who Ms. Campbell was, this relic from another era, if it wasn’t for the article’s introduction. Also, from my perspective, profanity demeans its user and it used to be that women had a greater disdain for it. So it was significant to me that a Canadian Prime Minister, and a woman to boot, would say such a thing. “You’ve come a long way baby.”

I am curious, why does ‘female’ hold ‘baggage’? I am proud to be called a female and I have never felt degraded because of it. Hilary Clinton would have gloried in being called America’s first woman president. I suspect that the only offended person here is the editor. The only embarrassment to news media is this last week’s editorial. Where was it going? Reclaim the word ‘female’? How else should someone describe a person with an androgynous name no one knows? I feel there was a point to be made but this example was the editor’s smoke screen. 

If somebody had identified Angela Merkel as the ‘female’ German Chancellor, then we could probably find common ground. However, it seems to me that the editor just wanted an excuse to call President Trump a motherf***er numerous times. If the editor wanted to call him a motherf***er then just come out and express agreement with Ms. Campbell but to desperately try to throw together a goofy story just to say it indirectly is pretty juvenile. The editor not only insults what it is to be female, but by supporting the use of that specific profane word, the editor also condemns mothers. 

Well, at least the editor is consistent here. 

I’ll take bitch over that any day. I love my dog. 

Yael Inglis, 

Creemore.

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