could someone please tell me...

[katekat]

Is she-vamp  really a word?  And if it is, who do we petition to get rid of it?  Cuz, seriously, I didn't realize that the word vampire was inherently gendered male, but if someone feels the need to qualify that the female vampire is a she-vamp ...

someone should cold cock me, smack me in the face and call me kitty, while they're at it.

Comments

[tx-cronopio.livejournal.com]

She-vamp. ICK! No, not a word.

[katekat]

doesn't it just make you cringe? it made me cringe!

[mishloran.livejournal.com]

I didn't realise it was a gendered word either. In fact, most books/etc I've read, it's not. Maybe it's used for more of a vampire in the full-on-goth-laydee type vampire effect? Sexy-but-deadly, kinda connotations?

I have no idea, kitty. ;)

[katekat]

I'm sure you're right - especially since it was used to describe a "romantic" vampire book whose premise begins "a girl goes out on a blind date and wakes up a vampire." Sometimes these things just scare me, you know?

And you called me kitty! heehehehehehe. (I didn't really mean it about the hitting and slapping though...)

[glimmergirl.livejournal.com]

inherently gendered male

See, now, I would've thought thas an "othered" figure, the vampire would have strong associations with the feminine and exotic. Possiby even Orientalism? So, "she-vamp" is almost a double gendering and, thus, double "Othering" sort of word...

[/wank]

[katekat]

Now THAT's what I'd call an argument! I completely agree with you - vampire totally has those feminized and exoticized connotations... what with all the dark, mysterious, and base things they're supposed to represent. Maybe we should mention that to everybody?

wank all you want lady, I LOVE it.

[aesiron.livejournal.com]

What're your thoughts on she-witch and she-bitch? :p

[katekat]

well, some would argue (although not me, not often) that witch is already gendered female (since often a male witch is titled warlock) and she-bitch? we talking wherewolves or wolves or what? Cuz there's a line in a David Eddings book that I always think of when I hear that phrase: the main character is talking to his grandmother when she's in wolf-shape, and someone else calls her a she-bitch, and he restrains her from biting, but she says "it's a very offensive term"

:D

[phendog.livejournal.com]

*L* I like vampiress, myself.

I think people tend to think of vampire as being male since all of the really old devil legends and Dracula tales tended to feature men as the "vampire" (though there were, admittedly brides of Dracula ;^)

[katekat]

Yeah, I'd have to say I *much* prefer vampiress if we're going to have boy and girl versions...

And yeah, there totally were MORE brides of Dracula than Dracula, even! Hmmmm. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

[dara-starscream.livejournal.com]

I've always read vampire as gender-neutral. I could see how 'she-vampire' might come up as a first-person POV or conversational oddity -- someone particularly weird or old-fashioned, -- but I don't see it as part of body prose. I also don't think that someone would refer to herself that way.

And, wouldn't the rest of the passage make more than clear what gender this particular vampire is?
-BJ

[katekat]

Indeed it does!! Which is why I thought the 'she' portion was particularly unnecessary. Oh well. Glad I'm not the only one who's not a big fan!

[dwg.livejournal.com]

She-vamp? Egad. I've always thought the word "vampire" was gender neutral, but if push comes to shove, I'd take "vampiress" over "she-vamp" any day. It at least has some kind of dignity, and the word "vamp" gets on my nerves if it's overused - like you can't be bothered writing the "ire" part of the word or something. A good dictionary will tell you that a "vamp" is part of a shoe, also a woman that uses her wiles to get her way - so going by those definitions, "she-vamp" is like saying "ATM Machine."

I also have problems when people want to call the male of witch a warlock or something, because...dude, the male of witch is witch. *sigh*

The English language, she is broke.

[katekat]

WORD.

I wonder if it's even possible to fix it, or if we should just all start speaking Japanese instead? ;)