double standards

[kca]

double standards i was wondering if i could get an example of a double standard

[Ouisch]

When a man gets grey hair, he looks distinguished.
When a woman gets grey hair, she looks old and is encouraged to dye it dark again.


When a man has many sexual partners, he is a player or a stud. He is often looked upon with admiration by other men for his exploits.
When a woman has many sexual partners, she is a tramp or a slut. She is considered cheap and is looked down upon by most men.

[Humble]

Hi kca,
This is an expression used mostly in politics. For example, the US goes at any lengths to pressurize Iran because of the alledged nuclear aspirations; at the same time they turn a blind eye on the fact Israel does have nuclear arms. There are quite a few examples in politics, but it's against the rules of the forum.
A double standard means applying some requirements selectively and therefore not fairly. You might get some non-political examples from other contributors.

[Philly]

.
While I completely agree that the expression "double standard" can be applied to politics, I totally disagree that this phrase "is used mostly in politics".

[Humble]

Hello, Philly,
I do admit it was a bit hasty to say so; I should have said - "I mostly hear it used in politics". Some people never watch the news or political programmes, so they have more chances to hear it elsewhere. It'd be interesting to conduct some frequency test, though.

[Philly]

Originally Posted by Humble

I do admit it was a bit hasty to say so; I should have said - "I mostly hear it used in politics". Some people never watch the news or political programmes, so they have more chances to hear it elsewhere.

The opposite is also true. If your primary listening and reading input is political news, then then your vocabulary will reflect that.
You may rest assured that I listen to and read the news daily. But knowledge of a language does not come from news alone.

Originally Posted by Humble

It'd be interesting to conduct some frequency test, though.

Normally, I'd agree with you, Humble, that a "frequency test" might be interesting. To be honest, though, I sense that your main interest in this case is not language but rather a political agenda. And I have no interest whatsoever in turning language research into a tool for pursuing political agendas.
.
It is quite remarkable that you seem to want to simply reject native-speaker input regarding usage in this case.
.
If someone claims to be of the opinion that a language forum should provide accurate information regarding the use of English, then a dismissal of the input from native-speakers and insistance on a personal, politically influenced interpretation may itself be seen as a double standard.
.
Have you even considered the possibility that I might agree with your political views? Apparently not. But, this simply is not an appropriate place for political discussions.
.

[Humble]

Dear Philly,
Your message left me with a heavy heart. Being an ESL I may be wrong but your You may rest assured…radiates animosity. What could have caused it? Maybe this?
It is quite remarkable that you seem to want to simply reject native-speaker input regarding usage in this case.
Practising a nice new phrase before I forget it (and cleansing it of any bitter shades), I say: You may rest assured that what I value most in this forum is native speakers’ inputs.

When I saw kca’s question there were no answers yet; I clicked Reply and minimized it, along with lots of other things and logged off; read all those things offline (daytime Internet is the most expensive) and finally got down to answer it - it took me nearly 2 hours. Then I sent my post without having seen Ouish’s. In no way did I belittle her (his) contribution.
I sense that your main interest in this case is not language but rather a political agenda.
Your impression is wrong. Being up-to-date with current developments, you can’t possibly deny that the Iran issue has been one of the hottest for quite a while. Small wonder it was the first to spring to mind.
Have you even considered the possibility that I might agree with your political views? Apparently not.
No, I haven’t. Precisely because it does not matter to the language on which side of the fence a phrase is uttered.
But, this simply is not an appropriate place for political discussions.
Didn’t I say the same in my previous post?
Respectfully,
H.

[Humble]

P.S. There have been some problems with the site, I couldn't open it earlier today.