complain

this is often used of women and members of minority groups to discount what they are saying. For example, "Women are more likely to complain of discrimination." Depending on the meaning, it should have read to "report discrimination" or "experience discrimination" or "protest discrimination." This usage may have come from legal terminology in which a complainant "complains," but using that sense in everyday language for certain people and not others is ambiguous and biased. Even at the doctor's office, notes may reveal that the man reported frequent headaches while the woman complained of them. See also claim (v.).