Last Updated on 1 November, 2025 by Cara Sutra
Despite all the progress we’ve made in gender equality, sexist phrases about women are still alive and well in 2025 — often hiding in plain sight. You’ll hear them in pubs, group chats, podcasts, and even dating bios. Some are passed off as banter. Some are masked as compliments. And some are so ingrained in everyday language that they slip by unnoticed — unless you’re on the receiving end.
But just because it’s been normalised doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. In fact, the continued use of these casual, sexist phrases is a glaring reminder of how far we still have to go — especially when it comes to lad culture and its deep-rooted misogyny.
I’ve been on the receiving end of sexist phrases about women plenty of times in my life. Even in the adult industry – where you’d hope respect and consent would be prioritised – I’ve been subject to demeaning adjectives and opinions in what should have been professional communication between business contacts.
Casual Sexism in Everyday Language
When it comes to sexist phrases about women, you’ve probably heard the classics: slut, slag, frigid, bird, bitch, nag, psycho. These are the obviously misogynistic names. What about the more insidious stuff? There are many words that masquerade as playful, harmless, even complimentary:
- Stunna
- Beauty
- Bit of alright
- MILF
- Totty
- Weapon
- Proper sort
- She’s punching
- Good for a laugh
- High maintenance
You’ve heard them on dating apps. On podcasts hosted by two guys who think their every thought is revolutionary. You’ve read them in WhatsApp groups when someone shares a selfie of a woman they fancy. These phrases reduce women to aesthetic value, sexual performance, or someone to be managed – not a real, thinking & feeling, complex human being.
Why Does It Even Matter?
Language isn’t just noise. It reflects our values, attitudes, and beliefs. When we casually refer to women as totty or slags, we reinforce the idea that their primary function is to be pretty, available, and easy to categorise. We strip them of complexity and agency.
Lad culture thrives on this. It pretends to be tongue-in-cheek, self-aware, ironic. But scratch the surface and it’s the same old crap: women seen as things to rate, to win, to joke about, to control, to fuck and discard. And when this language is brushed off as “just banter” or “locker room chat,” any criticism is met with eye-rolls or defensive “not all men” energy.
But if the language of sexism is still standard issue among groups of men, especially in male-dominated social settings, how can we claim we’re living in a more equal society?
Sexist Phrases About Women: Compliment or Control?
I want to make it clear that not every compliment is sexist. But when the compliment is focused solely on physical appearance, especially when spoken publicly or in a male-dominated space, it often becomes more about status than sincerity.
Calling a woman a stunner or saying she’s a ten might sound like praise, but it places her worth in the hands of men – often in relation to another man. It’s not about her being interesting, funny, creative, or accomplished in her own right. It’s about how visually pleasing she is and whether she meets the unspoken standards of “desirable but not too much.”
Even terms like MILF (which are thrown around like badges of honour) are deeply loaded. They centre a woman’s sexuality only in relation to male consumption, not her own experience or desires. It’s just the same old objectification with an age filter.
Lad Culture Isn’t Harmless
Lad culture is often positioned as just a bit of fun – cheeky, confident, harmless. But behind the in-jokes and beer-fuelled bonding is a pressure cooker of hypermasculinity, emotional suppression, and – let’s be honest – a ton of misogyny.
It teaches young men that being sensitive is weak, that respecting women is soft, and that calling someone out makes you a buzzkill. It rewards pack mentality and punishes nuance.
And when this culture is left unchecked, it leads to more than just dodgy group chats. It fuels toxic behaviours: sexual harassment, coercion, abuse, and violence. All of it starts with the idea that women are inferior.
So What Needs to Change?
First: the language. If you’re using these phrases, even if you think it’s “just a joke”, take a moment. Ask yourself what you’re really saying. Would you say it to a woman’s face? Think about the identifiable women in your life that you actually respect. Would you say it to them?
Second: the call-outs. If you’re in a group chat or a pub and someone drops one of these phrases, say something. You don’t have to be aggressive – just ask why they said it. Make them think. Because silence is agreement. It isn’t passive, it’s enabling behaviour.
Third: the self-reflection. If you’re clinging to lad culture because it makes you feel included, powerful, or safe, ask yourself what it’s costing the women around you. Or better yet – ask them directly.
Final Thoughts
Sexist phrases about women are not relics of the past – they’re part of the present. They might wear different clothes in 2025, but they’re still saying the same thing: that women are there to be judged, praised, mocked, or dismissed on male terms.
It isn’t harmless. It isn’t just banter. It’s time we started calling it what it really is – dangerous misogyny.
