During the 2004 Republican National Convention, Arnold Schwarzenegger brought the cheering crowd to its feet when he declared: “And to those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: Don't be economic girlie men.” The term “girlie man” came from a Saturday Night Live skit, in which two Schwarzenegger-imitating weightlifters used the term to mock those they considered their physical inferiors – those with less disproportionately huge biceps.

Schwarzenegger first used the “girlie men” term to attack those California legislators with whom he was stalemated over the state's budget. Some of those who were offended asked for an apology – on the ground, for example, that the term was often used to derogate gay men. But no apology was forthcoming. Indeed, a spokesperson for Schwarzenegger described the comment as an “an effective way to convey wimpiness.” And later, Schwarzenegger argued that people should just lighten up about his remarks, for he had merely meant the term as “a joke.”

Even Democrats have started using the term. Maureen Dowd, in her column in the New York Times, quoted a Democratic insider who had complained that Senator John Kerry had “turned into a girlie-man.” And some of the very same California legislators targeted by Schwarzenegger's earlier invective proudly attended fellow legislator Rico Oller's fund-raising event, “Rico's Road Kill Rally – No Girlie Men Allowed.”

The increasing use of the term “girlie men” is no joke; it's an example of offensive yet powerful sex stereotyping. The term wrongly assumes that women and girls are weak and ineffective – men's physical inferiors and (by implication) simply their inferiors. These stereotypes continue to wreak havoc not only in the political arena but also in our courtrooms – when, for example, women lose discrimination cases because they do not conform to gender stereotypes – and our workplaces.

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY'S “SOFTER SIDE” REMARK: ANOTHER IMPLICIT SLUR ON WOMEN

With women serving effectively in the military, and young women (even girls) excelling in the Olympics, America is flooded with proof that being a girl or a woman is not to be equated with being weak or ineffective. Indeed, the U.S. women's teams brought home more gold medals from Athens than the men's teams did – showing their strength, speed, courage, and stamina in the process. Yet this stereotype continues.