Why did George Cukor dislike being called a “woman’s director”?

George Cukor disliked the label "woman’s director" for two primary reasons. First, he felt it was an inaccurate assessment of his professional capabilities, as he believed he directed male actors just as effectively as he did actresses.1

Second, he felt the term served to cast aspersions on his sexuality. Although Cukor was gay, he maintained discretion in a Hollywood environment that was often prey to homophobia. The label was frequently applied due to his noted skill in eliciting strong performances from women, particularly in his collaborations with Katharine Hepburn, but Cukor viewed the moniker as a reductive categorization that ignored his broader artistic range and unfairly targeted his personal life.1