Gotcha.
I don’t think it’s either.
Ok, though I have never heard anyone say that without joking, change that " I went on a date with a male". Offensive? “I went on a date with a dude” Offensive? I don’t think so. Similarly everyone gets objectified, that’s part of being a human unfortunately since everyone uses everyone else as objects.
Asking to stop isn’t a point, I can ask you to stop breathing does that obligate your breathing to be offensive? No, it simply means you feel that way. We don’t call asians oriental anymore because it’s not accurate and comes from a time when the average person if they met an Asian person they had probably met a Chinese person. Fun example being Indians, they’ve asked routinely not to be called that and guess what? They keep getting called Indians. Offensive? No, hilarious because all it points out is white European hubris. Similarly, what Steven wants to be called is irrelevant, what they respond to is if you get my point.
As the supreme court famously said, “one man’s vulgarity is another man’s lyric.” I can’t determine what is going to offend you because there is such a crazy weird amount of shit to be offended about, an accurate title that just makes you feel weird is not something worth worrying about. I avoid it anyway because I don’t like to hear people’s word virtue signaling rants when I don’t.
It’s not not-nice to call a female a female, it might make you feel weird but that’s a you issue not an anyone else issue.