Woman Versus Female - Which is the proper adjective?

Transcript: (you can read while listening - a good thing to do)

Which is the proper adjective?

First, we had Nancy Pelosi taking over as Speaker of the House, then Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential nominee, and now Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. So the question of word choice is rising again—Is Hillary Clinton the first female presidential nominee from a major party or the first woman nominee?

Sexism

Before I answer the question, I want to address a related issue, which is that sometimes it's sexist to point out people's sex because doing so implies that they aren't in their proper role. For example, saying someone is a male nurse or a female doctor wrongly implies that it's so unusual for men to be nurses or so unusual for women to be doctors that you have to make a big deal out of it. But, given that Hillary Clinton actually is the first woman to ever be a presumptive candidate for president of the United States from one of the two main parties, it’s not sexist to talk about it because it is, in fact, a big deal. It’s historic. It’s an important part of the story.

'Woman' as an Adjective

So then, what is the best way to talk about Hillary Clinton being a woman? The words woman and man are primarily nouns, and to say someone is a woman nominee is placing woman in an adjective position. I checked four different dictionaries, and two don't include woman as an adjective (1, 2), one does (3), and the fourth said that when woman is used in the adjective position it's actually an appositive noun and it’s in the process of becoming an adjective (4). So the dictionaries don't give us a clear, definitive answer.

The 'Man' Test

Testing the validity of the sentence by seeing how it sounds to substitute the word man for woman seems like a good way to see if the sentence makes sense. To me it sounds terribly awkward to say someone is the first man nominee. I imagine most of you would say He's the first male nominee, if the need arose.

So, even though some sources say it's grammatically correct to use woman as an adjective, my opinion is that you should say Hillary Clinton is the first female Democratic presidential nominee.

If for some reason the word female makes you uncomfortable, you can use woman as a noun, saying she is the first woman to be the party’s presidential nominee.

With a perfectly acceptable adjective like female available, I don't see any reason to push the word woman into the role. But what about female as a noun?

'Female' as a Noun

Now on the flip side, Liz from Austin, Texas, called in to say her pet peeve is when people refer to women as females—for example, when someone says, “I was chatting to some females.” To her, that sounds very scientific and awkward.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage notes that esteemed authors in the 1800s used female in this way. And those authors were women.

Jane Austen used the phrase "the females of the family" in Pride and Prejudice, for example, and Emily Brontë wrote "It opened into the house, where the females were already astir" in Wuthering Heights.

Yet even back in those times other people complained that using female in this way was demeaning (5), and I agree with Liz that it doesn't sound right today. Merriam-Webster's goes on to say that the neutral use of Austen and Brontë has faded away, and the most common use of the word female now as a noun is to refer to lower animals. For example, if you were studying apes, you could say something like, “The females formed a small group to defend against the attackers.” (6)

It's my recommendation that you use female as a noun only when you are speaking about animals or writing scientifically. When you are talking about female humans, the favored nouns are woman and women. Likewise, when you're talking about male humans, the favored nouns are man and men.

Taken from HERE. For details of the six references, see the original article.

See also: 6 Reasons You Should Stop Referring To Women As "Females" Right Now

Excerpt:

The word "female," in its primary usage, is an adjective. When you use "female" as a noun, the subject that you're referring to is erased.

For example:

"I talked to a female yesterday."

A female what? A female kangaroo? A female rock snake? The subject of the sentence is not clear.

"I talked to a female presidential candidate yesterday."

This sentence is now about a human being.

It should be noted, though, that using "female" as an adjective can take a sexist turn when used in a case that isn't notable. Referencing a "female firefighter," for example, is appropriate only when her being female is pertinent to the story; otherwise, she's just a firefighter. But if you're talking about the first woman to become a firefighter, saying "the first female firefighter" is acceptable because her gender is relevant.

See also: ‘Female’ Is an Adjective, Not a Noun

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" 

~ Aretha Franklin (1942-2018)

Looking out on the morning rain

I used to feel so uninspired

And when I knew I had to face another day

Lord, it made me feel so tired

Before the day I met you, life was so unkind

But you're the key to my peace of mind

Chorus: 'Cause you make me feel

You make me feel

You make me feel like a natural woman

When my soul was in the lost and found

You came along, to claim it

I didn't know just what was wrong with me

'Til your kiss helped me name it

Now I'm no longer doubtful of what I'm living for

And if I make you happy I don't need to do more

[chorus]

Oh, baby, what you done to me?

You make me feel so good inside

And I just wanna be close to you

You make me feel so alive

[chorus]