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Gender-specific douchery

April 7, 2009 Video, Words on the page

In this [YouTube clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWUcVj31QaM&feature=PlayList&p=FC7BDC8774187EAE&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=53), Jonathan Coulton gives some backstory on the Portal videogame before performing “Still Alive.”

COULTON

This song is sung by one of the characters in the game. She’s an artificial intelligence, and she’s kind of an asshole.

That got a laugh, and for good reason: we so rarely refer to women as assholes.

And I don’t really know why. There are many gender-specific terms for hateful men and women, so it’s surprising that one which should be equally-applicable is almost always used for men only.

And yes, I got the sheet music to “Still Alive.”

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