Editing Pussy (section)

==Uses==

===Cat and similar===
[[File:Cat and rabbit cuddling.jpg|thumb|alt=a long-haired kitten|The word ''pussy'' refers to cats as well as other animals, including rabbits and hares.]]
[[File:Salix caprea 02.jpg|thumb|right|Male [[catkin]]s from a [[Salix caprea|pussy willow]]]]
Both in English and in [[German language|German]] ''puss'' was used as a "call-name" for cats, but in English ''pussy'' was used as a synonym for the word ''cat'' in other uses as well. In addition to cats, the word was also used for [[rabbit]]s and [[hare]]s. In the 19th century,  the meaning was extended to anything soft and furry. ''[[Pussy willow]]'', for example, is a name applied to various species in the genus ''[[Salix]]'' with furry [[catkin]]s. In [[thieves' cant]] the word ''pussy'' means a "fur coat".<ref name="OED 1" />

The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' gives as the first meaning of the noun: "Chiefly colloq[uial]. A girl or woman exhibiting characteristics associated with a cat, esp[ecially] sweetness or amiability. Freq[uently] used as a pet name or as a term of endearment." The examples it cites from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries are not sexual. Another example, not cited by the OED, is one of the main characters of [[E. Nesbit]]'s ''[[Five Children and It]]'' - Jane, nicknamed Pussy by her siblings.

The verb ''pussyfoot'', meaning to walk softly or to speak in an evasive or cautious manner, may come from the adjective ''pussy-footed'' "having a cat-like foot", or directly from the noun ''pussyfoot''. This word, first attested in the late nineteenth century, is related to both the "cat" and the "woman" meanings of ''pussy''.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title =pussyfoot, ''v''. |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |edition=third |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford}}</ref>

===Female genitalia===

In contemporary English, use of the word ''pussy'' to refer to women is considered derogatory and demeaning, treating women as sexual objects.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=James |first=Deborah |title=Gender-linked derogatory terms and their use by women and men |journal=American Speech |volume=73 |issue=4 |pages=399–420 |year=1998 |doi=10.2307/455584|jstor=455584 }}</ref> As a reference to genitals or to sexual intercourse, the word is considered vulgar slang. Studies find the word is used more commonly in conversations among men than in groups of women or mixed-gender groups, though subjects report using ''pussy'' more often than other slang terms for female genitals.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Simkins |first1=Lawrence |last2=Rinck |first2=Christine |title=Male and female sexual vocabulary in different interpersonal contexts |journal=Journal of Sex Research |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=160–172 |year=1982 |doi=10.1080/00224498209551146}}</ref> There are women seeking to [[Reappropriation|reclaim the word]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thomashauer|first1=Regena|title=Pussy: A Reclamation|isbn=9781781806364|date=2016-09-20|publisher=Hay House }}</ref> to symbolise sexual pleasure,<ref>{{cite news|title=Come to Mama|url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/nightlife/sex/features/4987/|access-date=23 April 2018|work=New York Magazine|quote=Mama Gena explains that using the word vagina is not unlike calling your penis your prostate. "When women use the word pussy, it sets them free. They flush, they get all crazy. They feel all wild. It snaps a woman into her sassiness."}}</ref> power,<ref>{{cite news|title=The young women on a mission to reclaim the word 'pussy'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/12cb632f-ba6a-4914-a4cb-1334dcb08869|access-date=23 April 2018|work=BBC Three|date=8 March 2016|quote="It has a kind of a universally pleasing and funny tonality. Plus, 'pussy' is a euphemism which mirrors the visually euphemistic images that we choose. We all know the internet was invented for cats."}}</ref> and trust in their bodies (e.g. around [[childbirth]]).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Burfoot|first1=Annette|title=Midwifery: An Appropriate(d) Symbol of Women's Reproductive Rights?|journal=Issues in Reproductive and Genetic Engineering|date=1991|volume=4|issue=2|pages=119–127|url=http://www.finrrage.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Midwifery_an_Appropriated_Symbol_of_Womens_Reproduvtive_Rights.pdf|access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Womens-March-MadisonWI-Jan212017-02.jpg|thumb|left|Woman wearing a "[[pussyhat]]"]]
American President [[Donald Trump]]'s use of the word to describe celebrity interactions with women ("grab them by the pussy", known as the [[Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape|''Access Hollywood'' tape]]) provoked strong reactions by media figures and politicians across the political spectrum; an image of a snarling cat with the slogan "pussy grabs back" became a "rallying cry for female rage against Trump".<ref>Puglise, Nicole. [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/10/donald-trump-pussy-grabs-back-meme-women-twitter 'Pussy grabs back' becomes rallying cry for female rage against Trump], ''The Guardian'' (October 10, 2016).</ref> Pink "[[pussyhat]]s" (knitted caps with cat-like ears) were a notable feature of [[2017 Women's March|the worldwide protests]] held the day after Trump's first inauguration as President of the United States.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kurtzleben|first1=Danielle|title=With 'Pussyhats,' Liberals Get Their Own Version Of The Red Trucker Hat|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/01/21/510997192/with-pussyhats-liberals-get-their-own-version-of-the-red-trucker-hat|access-date=January 22, 2017|work=NPR.org|date=January 21, 2017}}</ref> The name attempts to reclaim the derogatory term<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/pink-pussyhats-will-be-making-statement-womens-march-washington-1601088 |title=Pink 'pussyhats' will be making statement at the Women's March on Washington |last=Keating |first=Fiona |date=January 14, 2017 |newspaper=International Business Times UK |access-date=January 16, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115165657/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/pink-pussyhats-will-be-making-statement-womens-march-washington-1601088 |archive-date=January 15, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38666373 "'Pussyhat' knitters join long tradition of crafty activism"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121141233/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38666373 |date=January 21, 2017 }} BBC News. January 19, 2017.</ref> and is never used as an anatomical representation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/nation-now/pink-pussyhats-why-some-activists-are-ditching-them/465-b918e04a-fc6e-40bc-8721-23add4a24b8c|title=Pink pussyhats: Why some activists are ditching them|publisher=Detroit Free Press|work=KSDK.com|last=Jordan Shamus|first=Kristen|date=January 10, 2018|access-date=July 26, 2018|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806122755/https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/nation-now/pink-pussyhats-why-some-activists-are-ditching-them/465-b918e04a-fc6e-40bc-8721-23add4a24b8c|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Words referring to cats are used as vulgar slang for female genitals in some other European languages as well. Examples include German ''Muschi'' (literally "house cat"),<ref>{{cite book |editor1=O. Thyen |editor2=M. Clark |editor3=W. Scholze-Stubenrecht |editor4=J.B. Sykes |title=The Oxford-Duden German Dictionary |year=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-860248-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddudengerma00thye }}</ref> French ''chatte'' ("female cat", also used to refer to sexual intercourse),<ref name="Robert">{{cite book|last=Rey|first=Alain|title=Le Nouveau Petit Robert Dictionnaire De La Langue Francais|year=2000|isbn=978-2-85036-668-0|language=fr}}</ref> Dutch ''poes'' ("puss"),<ref name="OED puss" /> Portuguese ''rata'' (literally "female rat"),<ref>{{cite book|last=Allen|first=Maria F.|title=The Routledge Portuguese Bilingual Dictionary|year=2011|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-99725-9}}</ref> and Norwegian ''mus'' ("mouse"),<ref>{{cite book|last=Kirkeby |first=Willy |year=1989 |title=English–Norwegian Dictionary |location=Bergen |publisher=Norwegian University Press |isbn=978-8200182931}}</ref> which are also animal terms used as vulgar slang for women's genitals.

===Weakness===
{{see also|Gender role}}
The word ''pussy'' is also used in a derogatory sense to mean cowardly, weak, or easily fatigued. The ''Collins Dictionary'' says: {{nowrap|"(}}taboo, slang, mainly US) an ineffectual or timid person."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/pussies|title=Pussies definition and meaning &#124; Collins English Dictionary|website=www.collinsdictionary.com}}</ref> It may refer to a male who is not considered sufficiently masculine, as in: "The coach calls us pussies."<ref>{{cite book|author1=Jim McKay|author2=Michael A. Messner|author3=Donald Sabo|title=Masculinities, Gender Relations, and Sport|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Osehn3at7GoC&pg=PA39|year=2000|publisher=SAGE |page=39|isbn=9780761912729}}</ref>

Men who are dominated by women (particularly by their partners or spouses and at one time referred to as "hen-pecked"; see [[pecking order]]) can be referred to as ''pussy-whipped'' (or simply ''whipped'' in slightly more polite society or media).<ref>{{Citation |last1=Ayto |first1=John|title=pussy-whip |date=2010-01-01 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199543700.001.0001/acref-9780199543700-e-3863 |work=The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang |editor-last=Ayto |editor-first=John |access-date=2024-01-03 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199543700.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-954370-0 |last2=Simpson |first2=John|editor2-last=Simpson |editor2-first=John}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author-link=Collins English Dictionary |title=Definition of 'pussy-whipped' in American English |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/pussy-whipped |access-date=January 3, 2024 |website=Collins Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-26 |title=Definition of WHIP |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whip |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en |quote=What does whipped mean in slang use? In slang use, if someone in a romantic relationship is whipped, they let their romantic partner have a great deal of control over what they do, where they go, etc.}}</ref> This may be used simply to denigrate a man who is contented in a relationship. The hyphenated phrase is parsed as "whipped by pussy", a manipulative relationship dynamic wherein a female deliberately or subconsciously withholds sexual intercourse to coerce the male into surrendering power in other aspects of the relationship.