Do you think it is offensive to refer to women as broads or dames?

Question

My grandfather uses the word "dame" quite freely when referring to women.He occasionally uses "broad." He says they are only words, like lady and woman. I hate when he talks like this.

Grandpa is aging himself by using these words....but he does not seem to care that my Mom and I are offended by them

Answer 1

Actually, I don't get offended by it. I equate it to a vintage version of "chick". Is it politically correct? No. But consider the person who's saying it.

I may not have a whole lot of respect for the person who uses these nicknames for women (including Ho, Btch, Chick, Boo, etc) but I'm not going to let their ignorance offend me.

Answer 2

When I hear these terms I think of an old detective movie. Put into the context of the era in which those words were commonly used, the only thing potentially offensive about it is that women of that time had limited rights and opportunities. So a woman of today being called a broad or a dame may interpret it as intent on the part of the speaker to return her to that time, essentially stripping her of the rights and opportunities she enjoys today. If that intent is not present, there is no reason to be offended by the words themselves.

That being said, there is an issue of respect…if the women have made it known to the speaker that his words offend them, it shows a lack of respect on his part to continue using them. Elderly people in our society seem to get away with behavior that would not be tolerated if they were of a different age.

Answer 3

I would be less rankled by "dame" than by "broad", for what it's worth. However, I would far prefer either one to being called a "b***ch" or a "ho". So I guess it's more of a politeness issue. If you are feeling uncomfortable and have made that known, a gentleman would certainly stop saying those words in front of you.

A very obvious grimace should do the trick, if your grandfather is the type to notice that sort of thing. I would avoid being too outspoken about it, since he is your grandpa, but you can still clearly show your discomfort.

Any sort of speech that dismisses all women as "one thing" - whether broads or ho's, is bound to be insulting. Unfortunately, no one seems to have invented a similar slur towards men, otherwise we'd have a method for helping them to understand!

Answer 4

if it helps here is an etymology and relevant definition of the terms

dame
c.1225, from O.Fr. dame, from L.L. domna, from L. domina "lady, mistress of the house," from L. domus "house" (see domestic). Legal title for the wife of a knight or baronet. Slang sense of "woman" first attested 1902 in Amer.Eng.
1. (initial capital letter) (in Britain)
a. the official title of a female member of the Order of the British Empire, equivalent to that of a knight.
b. the official title of the wife of a knight or baronet.
2. (formerly) a form of address to any woman of rank or authority.
3. a matronly woman of advanced age; matron.
4. Slang: Sometimes Offensive. a woman; female.
5. Ecclesiastical. a title of a nun in certain orders.
6. a mistress of a dame-school.
7. Archaic. the mistress of a household.
8. Archaic. a woman of rank or authority, esp. a female ruler.

broad
O.E. brad, from P.Gmc. *braithaz (cf. O.Fris. bred, O.N. breiðr, Du. breed, Ger. breit, Goth. brouþs), of unknown origin. Not found outside Gmc. languages. Slang extension to meaning "woman" (1911) may be suggestive of broad hips, but it also may trace to Amer.Eng. abroadwife, for a woman away from her husband, often a slave. Earliest use suggests immorality or coarse, low-class women.
18. Slang.
a. Usually Offensive. a woman.
b. a promiscuous woman.

at the very least this explains why dame is found to be less offensive. as to your specific case you should probably cut him some slack as he did grow up in a far different time but he should be trying to change, if it bugs you then it is more then just some random term.

Answer 5

Hi!
I think it's a bit insulting. Dame isn't so bad when referring to a prominent older woman. Broad is rather crude, IMHO. But, I think I'd rather be called a broad in place of some of the other names I've heard guys use when they refer to women.

Answer 6

Yes, I would. Does he read?
Ask about his favorite novels.
Movies?
Read them, watch them.
He comes from a very different time, and that MAY be all there is to it.
This may not change whether or not you'd ever accept these words from your contemporaries, but it might make you feel a whole lot better about your grandad.
Now, I'm old fashioned, and still I'm with a man twice my age.
He does use new phrases, as he's in touch with many people of all ages in his field, and now, of course, me!
Still, when he referred to a local second-home vacationer, he called the man "a player".
I said, "Does his wife know?"
He replied, "Oh, they're both players," in disgust.
And I informed him, "Well, I'm not saying I agree with the morality behind what I'm about to say, but if they both know, they're not players. They just have an open relationship. Now, if they try to make otehrs beleive they're not married, and they hurt someone else, well, THEN they're players."
And he's like, "Well, where I come from, it doesn't matter. It's cheating, and you're a player."
Thirty years' difference can do that, and we know it, so we just deal.
We have these little talks all of the time. We agree to disagree.
Now, as a grandchild, and not an equal, of course the feeling is different. You're expected to respect an old man, etc., so whatever you say isn't going to change much.
Besides, you're hurt and angry when you hear these things, and I'm guessing, a little embarrassed, the way a young one is about their folks. This is normal, even though it's kind of needless...
It'll go away. No worries.
Just try to understand it from his angle- it was a whole different world when he came up, and I'm sure it'll be a whole new world when your grandkids bring new words to you, too.

Answer 7

They both seem really outdated terms. I would be offended at broads, but not dames. I would say that if they're only words and they're like lady or woman, then why not say lady or woman if someone you love has an objection to the other terms?

Answer 8

I would not like it if anybody called me a dame or broad, just bring it to your grandfather's attention. He probably thinks it is funny and does not mean any harm.

Answer 9

A word or phrase is only offensive if it's MEANT or used offensively. The intent of the speaker is paramount. People can FEEL offended by anything they choose to be offended by, but if the speaker didn't mean to offend, then the word or idea is not intrinsically offensive. It's just a word or phrase or idea.

Answer 10

i do no longer think of many women persons might discover the time era offensive. besides the shown fact that, I consider the final respondent who stated that some feminists ought to unlike this time era. The notice women persons captures all grownup women persons, mutually as the time era woman captures grownup women persons who comply with classic gender expectancies. in my opinion, i might prefer "woman" to "woman", yet then returned, i might prefer my call to the two. : ) that's a poem that ought to help clarify: Why i'm no longer a a woman (And No woman Is) females have diminished epidermis, positioned on white gloves, they sweep around the astounding of the armoire to make particular the darker-skinned woman who wiped sparkling it did no longer forget or cheat. a woman would not sit down with one leg dangling over the arm of the chair like she would not supply a damn. females do no longer restoration autos, build bridges, cord homes. females substitute into First woman, no longer President. sit down up stright, youthful woman! circulate your legs (shave them first). do away with (surgically if mandatory) that frown out of your brow. decrease your voice. Smile. (If anybody asks why you snuck to the ladies Room, say you had to powder your nostril.) call your self a woman and he will know you, he will safeguard you, he won't leave you. yet who protects the cleansing woman? ask your self why we don't have "females study" on the college? i will stay a woman, save the undemanding notice that have been given so grimy she needs to bathe herself off and be observed as a woman. till a actual woman can earn one dollar on the guy's dollar; till a actual woman can call her physique her own; till a actual woman can love a woman in peace, love a guy with out worry; till a actual woman can stroll the darkish streets together with her strategies on the celebs and not on her returned, i will understand that woman is a lie. --Sherryl Kleinman