‘Male’ and ‘female’ plugs and connectors – gendered language for the ends of garden hoses, electrical cords and pipe fittings sparks debate

Terms that are direct analogs to sexual intercourse are widely used to describe connector ends, but the language is evolving away from those problematic words.

By: Jo Mackiewicz, Iowa State University and Jordan Smith, University of Northern Colorado, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: August 25, 2026

Words: 1,106

Last Updated: 1 month, 3 weeks ago

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By Jo Mackiewicz, Iowa State University and Jordan Smith, University of Northern Colorado

Hopefully to mean “I hope”; singular “they”; “primary bedroom” instead of “master bedroom” – all are examples of recent language changes.

How do such changes develop? And what happens when people push back against them?

We studied a pair of ubiquitous terms currently undergoing change: “male” and “female” used to describe connector ends. Consider this sentence from Jinko Solar’s directions for installing …

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