I remember it being used freely, if not medically.
Used freely?! What circles did you run around in?
It was used in biology class in school. When we learned it - some of the kids that would be considered bullies (and some jokesters) used it to insult other kids.
I call bullshit.
He said shemale, and he's from france, and he expressed surprised at the American changes to acceptance. (Intent again)
Dude, you're making an excuse - not a reason. Yes, AON is from France - but he knew the term (even if he defined it in the wrong way) - It wasn't a new thing that "shemale" is not a nice word. You're moving your goalposts or attempting to find an alternate excuse.
Again, I am not criticizing that he used it once. I showed shock "Wow. Just. Wow.", dismay "Really???", incredulity "face palm emoji" the first time he used it. The second time he used it, I was quite clear why I was shocked and dismayed. Then he looked it up and realized-- correcting himself.
Everyone else then decided to jump.
Interesting how AON and I seem to be having a much calmer and more reasonable conversation over this than everyone else.
IMO you hit the real argument against it. Shell shock implies battle issue, which isn't the case.
Truth. And that is why the psychological field ceased using "shell shock" - because they realized PTSD happened to many people due to a variety of issues and so they changed the term they used in order to be more correct.