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  0 2 I think this is what you were thinking of: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=3948355 But I don't think your friend will be impressed: "Pussies are powerful; they can take pummeling and spit out a brand-new human being." In any case, I'm not sure that "pussy", when used as an insult actually has the same meaning. It might be short for "pussycat". Tom Sackett answered in Sex & Relationships about 1 year ago | Report 6 comments by Lee, Tom Sackett, and Basil… 0 0 Oh come on. You think when someone calls someone a pussy, they're calling them a feline? Think about all the most vulgar putdowns in just about any language, and they are all references to orifices that are, in context, on the receiving end of sexual penetration. "Asshole," "cunt," "cocksucker," "faggot," and, yes, "pussy." The implication of all of these insults is that the recipient of the epithet is fit for no more than being the object of someone else's sexual satisfaction. They are all assertions of domination and humiliation of one's opponent. Lee commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Sorry, I don't buy it. Words have histories. They don't necessarily fit your social theory. Slang origins are hard to pin down, so I can't offer a definite answer. There's even one etymology of the word "pussy" (in its usage as an insult meaning weak or cowardly) that suggests a completely different origin from "pussy" meaning cat or vagina. Besides, there's huge holes in your theory. (Hah! I kill myself.) I've never heard anyone use "asshole" in way that suggests sexuality, or sexual dominance. In fact, it's frequently used in reference to dominant people. (For example, anyone who drives a Hummer.) "Faggot" is pure homophobia, and you can't simply reduce it to mean someone "on the receiving end of sexual penetration" because it fits your pet theory. And I doubt that your claim that the character of insults cuts across most languages would stand up to much examination. The reason I have doubts about the origins of "pussy" is because its meaning -- weak or cowardly -- seems so different than most insults that use genetalia: prick, cunt, dick, etc. Most of these suggest that a person is mean and nasty, not weak. By the way, I don't care that most people who use "pussy" as an insult think that it means vagina. Just because people generally believe that a word or phrase has a particularly meaning doesn't make it so. "Niggardly" is not a racial insult no matter how many people think so, and "to shoot your wad" doesn't refer to ejaculation. Tom Sackett commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 "Just because people generally believe that a word or phrase has a particularly meaning doesn't make it so." Umm...I have to disagree. I do think you are right about a words origins - those are important and I don't think we should automatically assume "pussy" historically arose as a reference to a vagina. But...what does calling someone a "pussy" mean today? That absolutely depends on what people generally believe it to mean. When I call someone a pussy, if someone stopped me and asked if that was a reference to a vagina or a cat, I would clearly answer vagina. I think, whatever the history, in today's world we all connect calling someone a "pussy" to a vagina. "Niggardly" is not a racial insult, because the word is not used as a racial insult. "Shoot your wad" is absolutely a reference to ejaculation, every time someone says it in reference to ejaculation. I think you are confusing the history of the word, with the usage or "meaning" of the word. Just because a word arose with one meaning, does not mean that its meaning stays the same. Culturally, I think it is safe to say that calling someone a "pussy" today is referencing a vagina, not a cat, in the mind of the people who say that phrase. The meaning of the word is dictated by us, ever-changing humanity, not history. Basil commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 There's a difference between how a person might define a word and how she uses it. All the slang words for penis (that I can think of, anyway) can be used as insults in a consistent way. Call someone a dick or a prick, and the definition, "penis", and the usage, "unpleasant, arrogant, inconsiderate person", stay consistent. However, we would never interchange the words "cunt" and "pussy" when insulting someone, even if we believed they both had the same definition. Tom Sackett commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Yeah, but your original comment was about the "meaning" of the term pussy when used as an insult. The general meaning is "coward, weak, etc. etc." with shades of a reference to a female vagina. That is not the explicit meaning - but it IS a critical part of the meaning that we attach to the insult today. Whatever the origin of the word, nobody in today's world thinks calling someone a pussy is calling them a pussy cat. It simply isn't the "meaning" of the insult to people - and people define the meaning. Basil commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Well, this has veered wildly. Heh. But thanks for the comments, everyone. I do think that link provided was more or less what I had in mind, thanks! Petunia commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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