The term was first used by Schwarzenegger, who was supporting then Vice President
George H. W. Bush, in the
1988 presidential election. He attacked Bush's opponents: "They all look like a bunch of girlie men, right?" He repeated it in the
1992 election, then campaigning for President Bush, again applying it to the Democratic candidates, as seen in the 1992 documentary
Feed by
Kevin Rafferty and
James Ridgeway. He used the phrase again on July 17, 2004: "If they don't have the guts to come up here in front of you and say, 'I don't want to represent you, I want to represent those special interests, the unions, the trial lawyers ... ' if they don't have the guts, I call them girlie men." He would use the term twice in the speech. Schwarzenegger would later use the term again at the
2004 Republican National Convention, where he implored the audience not to be pessimistic about the economy, saying "Don't be economic girlie men." Schwarzenegger was criticized by various gay rights and feminist groups. California State Senator
Sheila Kuehl, who is a member of the legislature's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus, claimed that the governor had resorted to "blatant homophobia", stating that the phrase "uses an image that is associated with gay men in an insulting way, and it was supposed to be an insult. That's very troubling that he would use such a homophobic way of trying to put down legislative leadership." Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, said he was not upset by the remark but that his 13-year-old daughter was. "She's a young girl who knows the governor and really likes him a lot and didn't find the term to be a positive term, and finds it to be derogatory," Nunez said. "It was no question a very, very insensitive comment to make. I personally am not intimidated or threatened by it, but I think it really is beneath Gov. Schwarzenegger." Jeff Bissiri, the
Log Cabin Republicans' California Director, defended Schwarzenegger, responding to Kuehl's statements by stating that "the Governor's use of the term 'girlie man' was not a
slur aimed at the gay and lesbian community and Senator Kuehl knows that ... Where was her outrage when the Bustamante campaign referred to candidate Schwarzenegger as a 'sissy' for not agreeing to an endless series of debates?"
Regrets In an October 2018 interview with ''
Men's Health'' magazine, Schwarzenegger expressed regret for using the phrase: At the time it felt like the right thing to do. It was in my gut. I improvised it. I called them girlie men because they weren't willing to take risks. They were afraid of everything. Politicians in general want to do little things so there's no risk involved. But it was shortsighted. In the long term, it's better to not say that, because you want to work with them. ==Other public uses==