"My granddaughter made me aware of how I default to he/him pronouns when I don't know the sex of something, like a baby, an animal, or a plush creature. She defaults to she/her. This led me to be more aware of sexism in the English language. Something that really stuck with me not long after that was Betty White pointing out that it makes no sense to say that someone tough has balls, and someone weak is a pussy because male parts are fragile,"
"my husband is telling his son he throws or runs like a girl, or any other intent to insult by telling a male he seems female. Females are tough as hell; he should be flattered to be compared to a female. The only reason men think women are weak is because they have no clue what we endure monthly or during pregnancy and childbirth. No clue. I went through major gore before an emergency hysterectomy, so gore in movies is nothing I haven't seen before."
She noticed defaulting to he/him pronouns when sex is unknown, while her granddaughter defaults to she/her. That contrast increased awareness of sexism embedded in English. Betty White's observation exposes the absurdity of equating toughness with 'balls' and weakness with 'pussy', given male anatomy fragility and female anatomy resilience. A husband demeans his son by saying he throws or runs 'like a girl', treating femaleness as an insult instead of a compliment. Women endure monthly cycles, pregnancy, and childbirth, and experiences like emergency hysterectomy can render cinematic gore comparatively mild.
Read at BuzzFeed
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