Is "douchebag" a sexist term when used as an insult?

[TygrBright]

My impression is that anything associated primarily or exclusively with females that is used as an insult is generally regarded as sexist.

A whole raft of terms for female genitalia, for example, are used as insults to both genders but particularly men. References to <gasp!> menstruation are regarded as insulting, as in "on the rag" and "quit ragging on me."

So is "douchebag" sexist?

Why are we saying "douchebag" and "douchenozzle" to insult someone instead of the more gender-universal (and scatological) "enemabag" or "enemanozzle?"

Why has it become a prefix in the creation of compound insults like "douchehat" or "douchepig?"

Is it the onomatopoesy of the hard labial "D" followed by the soft "oosh" morpheme? Just more fun to say?

Or am I missing out on a whole world of male hygeine practices? Do guys use a bottle and nozzle to clean some other portion of their anatomy? Is "douchebag" or "doucheanything" an equal-opportunity insult?

I'm just, you know... curious about this stuff.

wonderingly,
Bright

[unblock]

1. yes, the politically correct insult is "colostomy bag".

[NightWatcher]

12. but "colostomy bag" doesn't roll off the tongue.

[TygrBright]

21. And if it does, you're kinkier than I ever imagined.... n/t

[phleshdef]

45. LOL!!!!

[WhoIsNumberNone]

41. Colostomy bag is something very different

[unblock]

67. uh,

yeah,

uh,

thank you for clarifying....

[LisaLynne]

2. I think it is sort of sexist.

But I can't say I have never used it and I don't get as offended by it as I do with some other words. Just my humble opinion.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

15. Weird Story...

I used to work with some very fun people. One female co-worker was (and is) a activist Democrat (she and her husband and young son traveled to Madison to protest the Walker Administration in 2011). She was moving into an office on my floor, and the day before she arrived, I festooned her office with Scott Walker paraphernalia, and I printed out multiple 8x10 photos of Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, et al, and hid them all over her office. It was a work of art -- and our boss approved it all.

A few days later I was out of the office all day at a meeting, and when I came back, there was a sign on my door saying "I believe you left some douche bags in my office." When I went into my office, I found douche bags hidden everywhere, with one dangling from the ceiling. After cleaning them up, I had a conundrum. What the hell to do with three dozen douches?

Oddly enough, none of the women in my office wanted any of them (they were still packaged) and most said they had never even used one before. We were obviously a close-knit group - most office mates don't share they douching habits.

So I have no idea what the douche market is like, but it can't be that good.

[LisaLynne]

16. Wow, that is a weird (and funny) story.

I doubt the douche market is very good. My doctor always discouraged me from using them because they can cause problems. I will stop there to avoid TMI.

[OneGrassRoot]

28. LOL!

I thoroughly enjoyed your story.

"So I have no idea what the douche market is like, but it can't be that good."

[SheilaT]

31. That's hilarious!

And I LOVE the sense of humor involved.

[MADem]

3. I suppose it depends on your cultural touchstones.

In many parts of the world, they aren't "Just For Women." They're handy-dandy "shower bags" to clean your business when you live in lands where water is at a premium and the water isn't "running"--as in, turn on a tap and get a steady stream of clean H2O.

I do not regard the term as "exclusive" to female persons. I know there are some here who do.

[KansDem]

58. "cultural touchstones"

I visited a friend in Switzerland in 1982. After arriving I went to the supermarket (Mikros) to pick up a few things. I was checking the toiletries when I saw what appeared to be shelf after shelf with packages marked "Douche."

I thought "Wow!!! There certainly is a lot of importance given this procedure!"

Then I learned that "douche" is French for "shower."

[Freddie]

4. I've only ever heard the term used for a man

As a female I don't find it offensive (as long as someone else is the d-bag!) The term I really hate is c***, very hateful and sexist.

[TygrBright]

7. Well, that's sort of the point....

...when something associated with a female (p**** and, yes, c*** come to mind) is applied insultingly to a male, is that de facto sexist?

curiously,
Bright

[loyalsister]

13. Girly boy...

Saying that you suck so bad you are as disgusting as a female c*** p**** whatever happens to be in a douchebag is very sexist. The idea is a women are so offensive that it is the ultimate insult for a man to have some kind of femaleness associated with him.

[pkdu]

5. I believe 90% of people using those terms don't even know what "douche" means. Nt

[relayerbob]

22. yep

[Voice for Peace]

29. same thought here nt

[uponit7771]

60. +1

[abelenkpe]

66. exactly

Was watching TV last nite and someone was called a douche and my seven year old giggled so I asked him: "Do you know what a douche is?" He said: "No." So I explained it to him and he said: "Ewwwwww." I told him women have been discouraged from using them for so long now that I doubt most even know what they are. He said: "Good cause that's gross. I shouldn't say that, huh?" Me: "Yeah. Don't say that."

[babylonsister]

6. Hahaha, rec'd just because!

I have no idea what it means, so don't use it. But great post!

[BainsBane]

8. does anyone douche anymore?

It doesn't bother me. I really don't think of the origin of some of these terms. Some like bitch are obviously sexist, but douche? I suppose its etymology is, but I don't see it being used in a sexist manner. That's my two cents.

[loyalsister]

9. yes

I cringe every time I read it.

[enough]

10. Every so often I come upon a thread that reminds me once again

why I love DU.

Thanks TB and all participants, interesting question and fun.

[madinmaryland]

11. The real question is whether "douchebass" is an insult...

I'll have to ask trumad.

[bluedigger]

14. I heard it on ESPN (I think) the other day.

I 'bout spit up. I think it's getting pretty well embedded in the common lexicon.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

43. I hear SNAFU on TV news all the time

Clearly neither the announcers nor the viewers know what it means.

[bluedigger]

46. Really?

[sendero]

17. I'm happy to say..

... that I don't give rat's ass either way. Folks who want to find a way to be offended are welcome to it.

[NYC_SKP]

18. During my tenure as a moderator, I consistently supported removing it.

And I never quite, really, understood why there wasn't greater consensus with my POV, but such is life in the hot tub.

I can only imagine that these terms are so widely used that it seems unlikely to be successfully eliminated or made to be shameful.

And, yes, once you remove the real medical and personal hygiene context from the question, the various derivations are kind of fun to say and a bit funny to hear.

Finally, I'll be kind and not discuss various bottles, salves, creams, clamps, and other such products that men use.

Wouldn't be prudent.

thoughtfully,

NYC_SKP

[dionysus]

19. i never saw it that way but who am i to be the arbiter of definition.

[Lokey]

20. My intention isn't sexist..

I use it as a pet name for a superior when I refer to them in conversation with other people. I use them all too: douche canoe, super douche, any combination of their job title and douche.
Worried that may come out to the face one day...maybe it already has Lol.
Perhaps I can switch it to enema--have to give that a try.

Have to say though, I don't think I have ever heard a female called a douche whatever. I would say no it isn't equal opportunity.

[TygrBright]

23. THAT'S the one I was trying to think of! "Douche canoe!"

That is one WEIRD insult.

And a helluva mental picture.

Pass the mental eyebleach, plz.

Amusedly,
Bright

[BadgerKid]

24. Douche is also 'shower' or 'to shower.'

I guess the point of a douche bag is to irrigate. The term dbag hasn't struck me as sexist.

[TygrBright]

25. A post-edit window correction:

(Can't believe no one caught & picked this nit... But it'll teach me to post in a hurry...)

>>Is it the onomatopoesy of the hard labial "D" followed by the soft "oosh" morpheme? Just more fun to say? <<

"D" is not a labial phoneme, but a dental.

There.

precisely,
Bright

[Skinner]

26. There is no edit window on DU3.

[TygrBright]

39. ooo, learn something new about DU.... LOVE it!

Y'all are doing such a great job, learning a lot about designing a usable site just from being on DU.

Hidy-ho back.

cordially,
Bright

[geardaddy]

71. Right, otherwise it would be...

bouche-bag

then it wouldn't be sexist. mouth bag.

[TygrBright]

73. Yanno, I kinda like that. It sounds splendidly dirty and insulting!

Yeah, he's a total bouchebag.

I might start using that.

Bouche canoe.

Bouchenozzle! Wow, that one sounds REALLY gross!

Thanks!

anticipatorially,
Bright

[geardaddy]

84. Yeah, me too!

Haha!

Bouche-tastic!

[TygrBright]

85. Why, if we tried, we could turn this thread into a bouche-o-rama! n/t

[geardaddy]

87. Indeed.

Haha!

[MineralMan]

27. I don't know. It's not an expression I ever use.

It's not one I particularly like to see, either.

[jpak]

30. Google Image the term "douchebag"

The term now has a new connotation.

yup

[Iggo]

34. So...much...orange...

[OneGrassRoot]

32. I use it quite frequently...

The term, that is.

It's the first descriptor which comes to mind for people like Limbaugh, Beck, Nugent, and any male who acts like them.

Never thought about it before, but I do only use it for men.

I'm a female and certainly don't intend it in a sexist way. I highly doubt I'll stop using it now, even if it does offend others.

Hilarious thread, btw.

[tblue]

33. A douchebag is what you use to squirt

vinegar or some kinda soapy stuff to clean your hoohah. A douchebag is NOT a hoohah, nor is it a woman and I have yet to hear of a woman who thought she was one. For me, being PC about a term like this is just so silly.

Now, is calling someone a prick sexist? You would think it's way worse than a term like douchebag.

[SheilaT]

35. Many years ago on a trip to Paris,

when at a small hotel and trying to get a room, I was offered one "Avec douche". With a douche? I was totally befuddled, even though my French was pretty good, good enough that I was doing the entire attempting to rent a room in French. Fortunately, the custom at least then was to show the potential client the room, and when we got to it I said, in English, "Oh, you mean a shower!"

I hadn't thought about that in years.

[Dems to Win]

36. I quit watching Jon Stewart because of incessant 'douchebag' insults

Find a male-centered word to use to call men an idiot!

So many nights, there's not a woman in sight on Jon's show, it's quite a boys club. To add insult to neglect, the favorite insult Jon uses for men he doesn't like is a reference to women's hygiene. I got tired of it.

[Gormy Cuss]

75. You mean like "idiot?"

There was a famous douchebag war on DU a few years back and Jon Stewart was held out as an example of a liberal using the term, therefore it was okay.

That said, it's become ingrained slang that people use without thinking of what it really means, somewhat like "gypped."

[Neoma]

37. All I know is that you're not supposed to douche in the first place.

Since it rinses out the good bacteria that's supposed to be there.

In that context, douchebag means wiping out the good.

[polichick]

81. You tell 'em! :)

[Orrex]

38. I don't use the term, but I don't find it particularly offensive

Neither does Jon Stewart, while we're at it.

After all, since one presumably uses the item to wash an area of the body when that part of the body is dirty; it doesn't automatically imply that the body part itself is inherently unclean. The insult IMO is based on the dirtiness of the body part when the body part is dirty.

On a side now, I have also heard an admittely far less common but still quite evocative term likening the recipient to an object used for cleaning male output from a peepshow floor. That term isn't necessarily sexist either, because it's referring to the filty object itself, rather than implying that the male or his output is inherently filthy.

YMMV.

[DefenseLawyer]

40. That's a stretch

regardless of the original connotations of the insult as being something relating to feminine hygiene, it's long since become a word of its own, used as an insult. It's like pendejo, which I think means "pubic hair", but now just means "idiot". When someone uses the term they in no way are implying the original meaning.

[TygrBright]

44. Well, the same thing could be said of the use of "pussy" as an insult. Or "bitch."

I doubt anyone who refers to a guy as being a "pussy" is thinking "yep, dude, you really resemble female external genitalia."

And I'm not sure that anyone who uses "bitch" as an insult is thinking "damn, you are gonna be SCATHED by me referring to you as a female dog!"

So whether or not an insult retains its original connotation in the mind of the insulter is sort of irrelevant. It's the context of what it's come to represent, and whether that context associates something with female as being insulting particularly to a male, that may make it sexist.

I'm not arguing that in this case, it DOES, just wondering how others see it.

But the original connotation of a word being used for an insult isn't really linguistically relevant to its current connotation as an insult.

philologically,
Bright

[DefenseLawyer]

48. No argument here

And you're right, it's not just the intent of the insulter but how the insult is perceived by those who hear the insult. But it is possible that an insult that was originally meant and perceived as a sexist slight has now completely lost that connotation. I think "D-Bag" fits squarely in that category. It has become a standalone "insult word"

[Art_from_Ark]

83. I think that "pussy" originally came from the sense of "cat",

as in "scaredy-cat"

[tabbycat31]

42. I'm female and use the term way too often

It is most used to describe my ex boyfriend or guys like him that do to girls what he did to me.

I have never used the term to describe a female.

[thelordofhell]

47. No

[Arugula Latte]

49. One of the most epic threads in the history of DU was on this very subject. It's still famous.

It involved a Lounge hijacking and accusations of vocabulary nannyism. Epic.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x3134331#3149985

[TygrBright]

55. Totally forgot about that one, thank you! n/t

[trumad]

50. You ain't taking my Douchebag away...

Aint no fucking way.

[Brainstormy]

51. Logically, it has to be sexist

since a man can't douche. He could be an enema bag, I suppose. But, as another poster noted, it doesn't have the same zip.
flush. swish. whatever.

[MADem]

62. Oh yes, they can--it doesn't have to be an internal procedure, you know.

If you need flowing water in an environment where there are no taps, that's the way to make it happen. You want to rinse some business with clean flowing water, it'll do the trick.

Technically speaking, this is a douche bag:

http://www.dhgate.com/p-ff8080813a738ba8013aa6bf8184268c.html?utm_source=GMC&utm_medium=Adwords&utm_campaign=jfaizilin&utm_term=144972810&f=bm%7c144972810%7c%7cGMC%7cAdwords%7c%7cjfaizilin%7cQL%7c%7c&gclid=CMCV2LO63rQCFdKd4AodNBgADA

[Brainstormy]

82. Sorry, personally

not buying that at all. Either metaphorically or literally. Here's Dictionary.com:
douche bag
noun
1. a small syringe having detachable nozzles for fluid injections, used chiefly for vaginal lavage and for enemas.
2. Also called douche. Slang: Vulgar. a contemptible or despicable person.

But this isn't exactly of critical importance to me. I can get hung up on language, sometimes, but I'll give the douche bag subtleties. Can't imagine a nurse telling a male patient, "You're scheduled for a douche at 7 a.m." But whatever. You can have this round.

[backscatter712]

52. What about "douchenozzle"?

I've used that term to describe ...those guys... that women so often have to endure, but shouldn't - the jackasses who are obsessed with getting their dicks wet, and absolutely have no respect for women.

[backscatter712]

53. I'm not giving up the word.

If George Takei can call a deserving bastard a douchebag, so can I!

[Ed Suspicious]

56. Someone mentioned the term idiot as a synonym. It's more nuanced than idiot.

The douche insult goes to the arrogant, calloused nature of the offender. An idiot is just an idiot but a douche-bag is a special kind of idiot with shitty intentions and a self righteous nature. I still may be missing the mark on the explanation, but I know the behavior when I see it. Not in the least be sexist to me. I suppose I say that at the risk of being labeled a little bit douchey.

[TheManInTheMac]

57. I prefer the term "hot-water bottle."

[Buzz Clik]

59. Yes. The insult is thrown at males ...

... With the underlying idea that it is a feminine only device and therefore weak.

Perhaps not every man who hurls that insult is a mysogynist, but the insult itself is quite sexist.

[gollygee]

61. Interesting article here

http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-01-07/news/how-douchebag-became-everyone-s-favorite-insult/


Anyone with cable television or an Internet hookup knows all too well that this is the dawning of the age of the douchebag. While the term for a feminine hygiene implement traces its history back to 1685, its slang incarnation now proliferates on the airwaves and the Web. Face it: We're surrounded by douchebags.

This comes as no surprise to the nation's linguists. They even have a term for this sort of thing: pejoration. That's when a neutral word takes on a negative meaning. The Oxford English Dictionary traces this process back to 1967, when "douchebag" was a popular epithet for "an unattractive coed"; it has since morphed into "a general term of disparagement, esp. for an unattractive or boring person."

[In_The_Wind]

63. Yes. I believe calling anyone a douche-anything is sexist.

I have never used the word douchebag as an insult.
I'm far more creative. [img][/img]

[spanone]

64. i prefer douchenozzle or doucherocket

[Quantess]

65. This has been discussed a few hundred times before.

I don't think it is sexist. I've never even used a douche, so maybe that's why I'm not offended and I don't care.
I'm going to keep on using it when deemed appropriate.

[edbermac]

68. Let's use 'asshole'

It's gender neutral.

[libodem]

69. It doesn't bother me

I feel more animosity towards the pc crowd being all upset over it.

We just did the is c*cksucker specifically a special slur againsts homosexuals, only, debate. I don't know what was solved. I rarely even see that word here.


So are we proving.sexism, homophobia, or classlessness exists amongst the members? Are we all just a bunch of douchey a-holes or what? Will these be banning words. Or just if someone we can't stand gets caught using it. Will there be be backsearching for crimes? Should we all be worried that this is our last day here?


Let me bolt for a box of tissues and some Xanax, before my phone dies.

[MissMarple]

70. What a counter point. Brilliant.

The feminism threads were getting a bit ponderous. And do people still use those?

[cthulu2016]

72. Yes, but it is grand-fathered

It does depend on the presumed nastiness or triviality of something to clean lady parts, but since I'd guess almost nobody has used a real douche bag (as opposed to a disposable thing) for a generation it lacks the sharpness to attract much offense on sexist grounds.

[Raine]

74. Yes it is and I personally find it offensive. nt

[The empressof all]

76. Well consider the product.

It was originally created to address female genitalia that was thought to be dirty or diseased. I personally think at it's core it's sexist although an individuals intent in using it may not be so because they may be unaware of the history.

For example the term Rule of Thumb is a pretty mainstream term but it's origin is based upon the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it is was no thicker than his thumb.

So personally, I wince at the term and may think a little poorly of someone who feels they need to use the term in their self expression...it's drifting too far into the mainstream to castigate anyone for using it.

[cecilfirefox]

77. As someone who has to douche here and there.... LOL, no. I'm okay with it. nt

[undeterred]

78. Yes, its totally sexist but sexism is not against the rules on DU.

If it were my website it would be against the rules.

[backscatter712]

79. Personally, I think we've got better things to do with our time than play word-nanny.

Welcome to the Internet, home of the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory!



Guess what, people are going to say rude things. Even here on DU (especially here on DU.)

My advice, if you're going to get upset and go apeshit every time someone says certain words, you're raising your blood pressure for little gain.

[TroglodyteScholar]

80. Two things

1) It's no more sexist than calling someone a dickhead.

2) 99.99% of the time I find myself thinking someone is a douchebag, it is a man. Furthermore, the thought never has anything to do with his masculinity.

[Bake]

86. Are we really arguing about whether "douchebag" is okay???

Meanwhile, responsible gun owners are called PUSSIES with impunity.

DU/GD ain't what it used to be.

Bake

[TygrBright]

88. You call THIS an "argument?" Seriously?

Come on, you know better than that!

This is a "whimsical chat."

correctively,
Bright

[Bake]

89. So now I have to worry about whether "douchebag" is sexist?

I think maybe I won't worry about that.

Bake