And being married to a strong professional woman (who works every day to keep me from under a bridge in a cardboard box) and the father of an equally strong daughter the catchphrase in our household is "ovaries of steel".

but why we picked the most fragile body part of a man to signify strength, i do not know

I needed that.

But I always thought this usage of "pussy" was derived from "scaredy cat", and was a reference to feline skittishness.

In French, poussée is used (in noun form) as push, shove or poke, and I was under the impression it was a word brought back from WWI in the anatomical sense as, um, something that they might have picked up in casual conversation.

also, i object to the balls part of it. i will never grow any and i am far more courageous than most.

Last time I looked ... that just isn't possible.

compared with pussies. Do you know how inadequate and depressed this makes my cannon balls feel?

The English word, "pussy," may derive from an old Norse word, "puss," meaning a pouch or pocket, or from the English word "puss" for "cat," as in "Puss in Boots." It doesn't derive from the French verb, "pousser."

It's use as an insult aimed at men is almost certainly a misogynistic usage, referring to its use to describe the female vulva.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pussy

at worst clearly a sexist terminology, and regardless, the second part of argument around balls is sexist. that is not at all unambiguous.

I suppose it's a testosterone thing but the metaphor falls apart rather quickly.

The implicit meaning is that those who don't have balls, I.E. Women, are weak. Telling someone to grow a pair is telling them to be strong like a man. It's old time sexist speech that hasn't faded out of common use.

It also implies that the balls-less one is anatomically incorrect.

Defective.

Freakish.

There's more going here than an implicit insult to women.

Meaning weak and cowardly, but literally nobody means this when they say it so I would conclude it is just deliberately sexist because they think women are weaker.

I'll go with "deliberately sexist *and* simple ignorance," as the two seem to be conjoined twins.

If you're not afraid of a dangerous act, then performing that dangerous act does not entail much courage.
If you're terrified of a dangerous act, then performing that dangerous act does indeed entail substantial courage.

To praise a famously strong organ (or organs) for a display of strength is simply redundant.
To praise a famously fragile organ (or organs) for a display of strength is to praise strength in spite of weakness.


I mean, you wouldn't be surprised if you saw an anvil supporting the weight of a pickup truck, but if you saw a wineglass supporting that same truck, you'd be amazed.

comes from the term meaning full of puss, or inflated, swelled; hence, fat, short and thick; and as persons of this make labor in respiration, the word is used for short breathed

Words have many meanings and origins.

Oxford English Dictionary for 'puss', from which 'pussy' comes:

And as to men and their balls there is something else that can hurt him worse than a kick in the balls, not stroking his ego.

Some folks will not be happy until the entire language is neutered and stripped of anything remotely "offensive."

I like how you put the word 'offensive' in scare quotes.

Cause sexism is totally not offensive, amirite bro?

It's in an entirely different context but I've spent most of the day arguing with morons that want to be allowed to keep their offensive team identity named after the oppression and genocide of my ancestors because "tradition" and "you clearly weren't offended until recently." (Actually, we were offended all along, society kept telling us we didn't have a right to be and ignoring our objections.)

So, thank you for getting it. It really is that simple. "Hundreds of years of *bigoted* language should change because of learning."

It's about time people stopped ignoring this stuff, pretending it doesn't matter, and then getting upset when people finally stand up and say enough.

Just evolve already. Damn.

It's not much, but it's a start

Seattle Times to ban 'Redskins'

No one is talking offense, although Language is a powerful tool that carries our cultural freight.

It's a "why" question.

While yet others will not be happy until the entire planet applauds the person rationalizing his own vulgarity.


Six of one, half a dozen of the other... and each as flawed as the other.

of people calling in and asking, "Do you have 16 pound balls." When I say "yes," they ask me how I can even walk. I am not sure how that is relevant to your post, except that it is something annoying that pertains to balls.

Why should that be an insult?

Same goes for calling someone a dick, although I do occasionally lapse and say that one, just because I hear it so much from others.

To me, any "feminizing" insult applied to a male is misogynistic. It may not be the person's intent to be insulting to women, but that is the end result. And this sort of thing (along with "gay" insults) is so pervasive in our culture that many people don't even notice.

In most cases it's mindlessly sexist, both men and women use it as a term for weakness. It can be very homophobic as well. I think very few people take the time to think about it. Even less care.

I have a language structure, the working class language of my upbringing, street language of my youth, and my professional language. In every arena, outside of professional ares where language needs to strictly remain that way, I've seen "pussy" used as a term for weakness.


When I see people say words have no power, or only the power you let them have, I remember the time of being so powerless that words are all I had. The right word or words, with intention, actual gave me power-- temporarily, but it was there. Which is why the term "pussy" to imply weakness is so ironically stupid to me.

sure would be nice to come to DU and not be slapped in the face with someone's idea of a slam on someone else's sex...

sP

The testes are an extremely vulnerable part of the male human body. But the dominant social rhetoric surrounding testes is that they possess a mythical invulnerability. That is the paradox.

What must be done here is the acceptance of vulnerability while recognizing that this says nothing about you as a person.

it is the intent of the post and ALL of the fucking posts that go ON and ON and ON over the current rev. of gender wars here on DU. if this were in a vacuum it would be an interesting discussion, but given the current state of DU and the fact that there have been about 100 discussions (hell, shouting matches) on topics related to male v. female... THAT is what is getting old. at any given time over the last couple of weeks you can find 5 to 10 contentious threads on the subject and DUer's attacking other DUer's over one side or the other. THAT is what is getting old. and it is not just this topic... it is whatever the hot point of the moment is. i guess you find it entertaining that people come here and tear each other apart over this sort of thing. i personally think it is one of the things that is making DU suck more and more. everyone is at everyone else's throat over stuff that at some level we probably all agree on (assuming that the participants in the discussion are here as Democrats or liberals and not just as people trolling and starting fights). i find it sad... in the more than ten years that i have been on this site it has rarely been this ugly...

sP

“Why do people say "grow some balls"? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding.”

...you can call a guy an "asshole" and it won't provoke a response that calling him a "pussy" would bring.

The explanation is in the power dynamics. Assholes aren't a lower status group, who are oppressed by the group men are members of. It is because of the dynamics of oppression that oppressive, bigoted insults have the extra 'punch' they do.

Also, the reaction to the insult puts the lie to the claim that the word means 'cowardly like a cat'.

"Pussy an analogy for weakness?"

She'll kick your ass!

I used to play catcher and twice was taken off the field after catching a foul ball in the stones.

Testicles are the most delicate part of the male body and I never understood calling weak stuff pussy and telling a guy to 'sack up".

derived from the meaning of "pussy" as a pampered housecat that can be scared by almost anything, just a different version of "scaredy (fraidy) cat".

I've always thought it is a stupid expression and it makes me cringe whenever I hear it

It had to do with... "the weaker sex".

Williams would laugh and look at the audience, and say to the men... concerning childbirth...

"Hey guys... close your eyes... and imagine passing a bowling ball."



& Rec !!!

I should know. I invented the Nouveaux Juvenile.

these comments, I think some DUers need to be reminded about the "trash keyword" and "trash thread" options.

I think the whole balls thing has to do with testosterone and it's known that testicles play a part in that (literally, if there is less ejaculate in a given time period, there is more testosterone). So, playing devils advocate here, the term "huge balls" is analogous to "more testosterone."

This is, incidentally, why many fitness regimes encourage men to not "release" as it builds their natural testosterone levels. Testosterone is related to male strength, so it is with some irony I think that the most fragile moderator of said levels is used in a way to suppose strength or masculinity or power or whatever.

Again, devils, fucking, advocate. I hate the "balls / pussy dichotomy" completely. There are much better words, which are gender neutral, which refer to strength and weakness. Those words were written, literally, in the previous sentence.

and blindly accepting that women are weaker, even in areas where they very very very clearly are not.

But in Western culture, most people refuse to see the facts before them, for lots of reasons. Same reason why some Catholics can not leave that corrupt church, IMO.

Good thread, Lionness. K&R

.."i'll kick you in the nuts"..."you don't have to do that, you just have to graze nuts to fuck a man up"...

Caution: video uses NSFW language