What do you call a woman who actively chases men?

Question

I'm not looking for any derogatory term, but for something that the woman herself would say

Example:

He was a good guy. Not sure why I was so sure of that. Maybe it was a skill that I developed when I was a [...].

Downvoting because you're getting into subjective territory here. — TimR, Jun 25 '15 at 13:54
The ability to suss whether a person is "nice" or a "creep", is I believe sensory, tactile, based on instinct not a skill you can develop or sharpen. Experience will fine tune it, undoubtedly, but it's that extra something which women naturally have, a gut feeling, if you like. As for a woman who chases a man, there are ONLY derogatory terms. :) Women weren't supposed to hunt, men were. And this question, worded differently, has been asked before! — Mari-Lou A, Jun 25 '15 at 14:18
related (possible duplicates): Feminine equivalent for Casanova and [“Man” is to “womanizer” as “woman” is to what?](http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/69129/man-is-to-womanizer-as-woman-is-to-what) — Mari-Lou A, Jun 25 '15 at 14:23
@Mari-LouA Yes, I voted to close as a dupe of "Man" is to "womanizer" as "woman" is to what?. The top and accepted answer there has the most common term IMO and the one which immediately occurred to me: maneater (also vamp, which is cute). — Dan Bron, Jun 25 '15 at 15:51
The ability to capture a prey (chase after a man/woman) is not a skill it is an art, i.e The art of seduction — Mari-Lou A, Jun 25 '15 at 16:02
Four votes to close this question, you should reword or recast this post and show some serious research (for once). I am adding my VTC now. — Mari-Lou A, Jun 25 '15 at 16:50

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 25 '15 at 14:30

3

"Flirt" comes to mind. Actually, a whole bunch of phrases/terms come to mind but they would descend in to the "derogatory" category and, as such, wouldn't apply.

answered Jun 25 '15 at 14:30

Bob Stout

752

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 25 '15 at 15:37

2

Temptress

temptress ˈtɛm(p)trɪs/ noun a woman who tempts someone to do something, typically a sexually attractive woman who sets out to allure or seduce someone.(Source:Google.com)

answered Jun 25 '15 at 15:37

mindfultrails

808

along the same lines: seductress – Avon Jun 25 '15 at 15:41

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 25 '15 at 16:18

Many of the words for sexual behavior have cultural prejudices built in, so I think many nouns and adjectives are already going to stack the cards against you. "Flirty," "Promiscuous," and "Temptress," read like euphemisms for loose behavior. I'd look for phrases. If you're looking for a word for a woman who actively dates around, enjoys the company of men, but isn't a tease, consider,

dating around:

He was a good guy. Not sure why I was so sure of that. Maybe it was a skill that I developed when I was dating around.

man-chaser, used wryly:

He was a good guy. Not sure why I was so sure of that. Maybe it was a skill that I developed when I was chasing men.

these seem like a better fit, especially since the woman in question has dated "good" men and good men don't usually go for flirty, flighty, teasing, temptresses.

sources: dictionary.com, myself.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 25 '15 at 16:21

IMHO, most of these answers are pretty judgmental. Simply referring to the lady in question as a "single-girl/gal" would imply that she "chased" men, without casting aspersions at her character.

(A single woman who does not chase men is known as a/an "old-maid", "spinster", "cat-person" or, lesbian.)

score -1 · Answer 5 · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

-1

He was a good guy. Not sure why I was so sure of that. Maybe it was a skill that I developed when I was sowing my wild oats.

Go through a period of wild or promiscuous behaviour while young:

he sowed his wild oats before settling down

Your hunt for a single word notwithstanding, this is how I'd put it. It isn't offensive (on the contrary, it can be humorous).

EDIT: In my opinion, the expression can be used by a girl. Though etymologically it looks like it's restricted to men, as @Janus pointed out.

In any case, I'd let my female character use it.

For a single word, consider the one in the definition: promiscuous.

edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Community

1

answered Jun 25 '15 at 15:25

Tushar Raj

21,025

4

Uh, hmm, you don't think planting seed is connotative of men? – Dan Bron Jun 25 '15 at 15:26
1

@DanBron: I don't think anything in English is restrictive to men anymore, including the word man :) – Tushar Raj Jun 25 '15 at 15:28
Well, man has a very long history of not being restricted to XYs; that, at least, is not a new thing! – Dan Bron Jun 25 '15 at 15:30
@TusharRaj The word man has never been restricted to males. Its original meaning was ‘human being’, and it has kept that meaning for millennia; the secondary development of ‘human’ → ‘male human’ is a later one. Sowing one’s wild oats, however, is a direct analogy to sowing seed, putting one’s seed in fertile ground, etc.—all metaphoric descriptions of the exclusively male part of coitus. See also World Wide Words’ piece on the expression. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jun 25 '15 at 15:30
@DanBron: Besides, even if it is, the context makes it clear. I'm assuming Jano needs it for his novel. Writers have more licence than usual in these matters. – Tushar Raj Jun 25 '15 at 15:31
@JanusBahsJacquet: Man, dude, guy... the list goes on. I think the readers wouldn't mind if a girl used this expression. Some girls might mind if you say they can't. – Tushar Raj Jun 25 '15 at 15:32
@JanusBahsJacquet That was an interesting article! Thanks for the link. Tushar, sure, it's a good answer, I just quibbled with the "not restricted to men" part; I think Jano should be aware there's a small risk in that usage. Why do you say restrictive rather than restricted, by the way? – Dan Bron Jun 25 '15 at 15:32
@TusharRaj But I would guess more girls would mind if a man used it about them (which would be the case here, even though the narrator is female). Also, I've never heard dude or guy used to refer to a woman directly (nor man, for that matter). – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jun 25 '15 at 15:34
@JanusBahsJacquet: I think the narrator is talking about having relationships with men. So, in this case, men were the 'victims'. I'm saying girls could mind if you say that they can only be on the wrong end of this expression. – Tushar Raj Jun 25 '15 at 15:39
"in the fast lane". – TimR Jun 25 '15 at 15:39
@JanusBahsJacquet: Guys is not restrictive. Males and females both can say to another female something like 'Not cool, man/dude/bro'. But we're digressing here. All I'm saying is that a female character could use the expression without everyone getting all worked up about it. – Tushar Raj Jun 25 '15 at 15:45
(Side note, but worth pointing out that Jano is seeking a noun, not a verb or adjective.) – Dan Bron Jun 25 '15 at 15:47
@DanBron: I might be wrong, but I thought his need for the absence of negative connotations was more pressing than the need for a noun. – Tushar Raj Jun 25 '15 at 16:16
@DanBron: Also, if girls can have balls, why can't they have seeds :) – Tushar Raj Jun 25 '15 at 16:18
Thank nGram link doesn't work for me :( (PS: sowing one's wild oats frequently does have negative connotations, but you're right that it can be used in a way that frames the subject positively. The link Janus provided has more details on the negative aspects; in short, it's not about promiscuity, it's about frivolity.) – Dan Bron Jun 25 '15 at 16:26
@DanBron: Dunno why the ngram doesn't work. It was this search: she 's got balls,he's got balls. Good catch on the restricted error. Thanks. And I've only ever seen this wild oats used in the context of promiscuity. Never frivolity. – Tushar Raj Jun 25 '15 at 16:32
No, I meant the "negative connotations" of SOWO are related to the subject wasting his time (sleeping around), rather that doing something productive. It's a dig at his work ethic, not sexual ethics. – Dan Bron Jun 25 '15 at 17:05
@DanBron: Oh. Got it now. – Tushar Raj Jun 25 '15 at 17:27

What do you call a woman who actively chases men?

5 Answers5