English Words More Appropriate For Specific Genders

[Baburra]

I've always thought that "outfit" was more appropriate for females when speaking about their clothes. I have a hard time picturing it otherwise, and would often feel it to be awkward when a male uses the word to describe his own clothes.

Although, I'm pretty sure that technically, it is applicable for both genders. I wonder why this is so, how about you? I'd also be glad to hear any other examples you guys come up with.

[ddrmario123]

I've been told that "pretty" was reserved for the ladies while "handsome" was used for men.

[Denis Hard]

How would you call a woman who fishes for a living? Fisher girl/ fisher chick or something? I think there are some words like Fisherman which though they can be changed to include both sexes, just can't sound right because we're used to the sound of it.

He's a fisherman.

She's a fisherman?

[Aishe]

How would you call a woman who fishes for a living? Fisher girl/ fisher chick or something? I think there are some words like Fisherman which though they can be changed to include both sexes, just can't sound right because we're used to the sound of it.

He's a fisherman.

She's a fisherman?

Hmm, in cases like that I guess you'd (or I'd) go for the gender neutral pronouns, for example fisher rather than associating a suffix with it.

I don't think I've ever felt like a specific word is more suitable for guys or girls to say though.

[LauraM]

I've always thought that "outfit" was more appropriate for females when speaking about their clothes. I have a hard time picturing it otherwise, and would often feel it to be awkward when a male uses the word to describe his own clothes.

Although, I'm pretty sure that technically, it is applicable for both genders. I wonder why this is so, how about you? I'd also be glad to hear any other examples you guys come up with.

I have heard "outfit" refer to clothing for men as well as women.  I've also heard it used for children and babies as well.  But I do think the tendency is to use it less so for men. 

I think that "outfit" may seem a little bit odd when referring to men because we may be more likely to talk about women's clothing as a totality whereas unless a man is wearing a suit, we are probably more likely to speak about specific items of his clothing.  Perhaps the type jacket he's wearing or the type of pants.  We might say "He wore a tweed jacket" or "He wore faded jeans."  Or we might label the combination:  "He wore jeans and a t-shirt."  Or we might say "He dressed casually." 

[Rosa]

I get the point. When I was little I was very much confused by some words too. I can only think of one now but then it was several. I always thought that the word suit was a word used only to describe a males clothing. It was some time later before I knew females also dressed in suits. A bit funny now that I'm older and look back at it.

[Kandikkal]

I can think of some words used commonly like chairman, watchman, layman, bogeyman, ombudsman etc. I will like to know female counterparts of these words.

[fredkawig]

How would you call a woman who fishes for a living? Fisher girl/ fisher chick or something? I think there are some words like Fisherman which though they can be changed to include both sexes, just can't sound right because we're used to the sound of it.

He's a fisherman.

She's a fisherman?

I think the word man at the end of every word does not necessarily denote or refer to men or masculine. I think man means human and that humans are a general term for both male and female. So fisherman meaning a human who fishes, that's what I understand and maybe that's why they created such word in the first place.

[Rosyrain]

Using the word "cute" to describe something is for the ladies..."that shirt is cute."  Whenever I use the word cute to describe an item that I like, my fiance looks at me weird and asks how it is "cute."  I think this word is reserved for the ladies, unless describing a baby or an animal.

[Internet]

I've always thought that "outfit" was more appropriate for females when speaking about their clothes. I have a hard time picturing it otherwise, and would often feel it to be awkward when a male uses the word to describe his own clothes.

Although, I'm pretty sure that technically, it is applicable for both genders. I wonder why this is so, how about you? I'd also be glad to hear any other examples you guys come up with.

"Outfit" can be used for either gender. I've never had any problems with it.

"Pretty" on the other hand is a bit trickier. Sure, it's mostly applied to women, but you might hear some women calling a man "pretty" every now and then. On the other hand, you very rarely hear a man call another man "pretty" which means that a woman almost always is on either the sending or receiving end for the word to work. To me, that means that "pretty" is a feminine word, yes.

It's very much like what Rosyrain described about the word "cute."

Using the word "cute" to describe something is for the ladies..."that shirt is cute."  Whenever I use the word cute to describe an item that I like, my fiance looks at me weird and asks how it is "cute."  I think this word is reserved for the ladies, unless describing a baby or an animal.