Orsdxy

Often in science fiction when someone refers to a male or female member of some other species, they use terms like "the klingon female". This also happens between members of that species, so if a Klingon was to refer to a female of their own species, they would refer to her as a "klingon female". For me as a native German speaker, this sounds rather weird as in German this kind of wording would only be used when referring to animals (e.g. female dog) and it sounds rather derogatory. When referring to humans, in German you would always use the equivalent words for "woman" or "man". I have also (rarely) seen that usage in English language non-science fiction movies used on humans.

So my question is, in English is the use of "female" or "male" to describe a person of either the same or an equal species derogatory or not? Are there any connotations to that that I don't get? Is this usage fine among humans (in the real world)?

Man and woman refers only to members of the species Homo Sapiens. It is not a generic gender term that can apply to other species.

Further - because the Klingon world is made up, and we don’t know their language, then the writer is not able to say, for example ‘Vardikon’ for ‘Klingon male’ and ‘Komptree’ for ‘Klingon Female’ - as we don’t know those Klingon words - for ‘woman and man - in Klingon’.

And, if the author decides to teach us those words, there’s quite a lot s/he has to write. Which then doesn’t work if a reader dips into a later section of the book - having missed the explanation.

So that’s why the author is probably using ‘Klingon female’ and ‘the male’ etc.

It’s not derogatory in English.

It can be used to artistically emphasise aspects of gender - say, to contrast - for example ‘the female stood before him, battered, frail, bloodied, as the giant raised his hand...’ Contrasting her as ‘weaker’ in comparison to ‘the giant’ by emphasising her gender. Also potentially making a broader statement about ‘womankind’ at the same time.

The thing is that ‘woman’ and ‘man’ refer to ‘humans’, not to Klingons. Only humans can be ‘woman and man’. Man-man and womb-man - woman.

If you used ‘female’ in a more mundane situation like ‘the female shop assistant came up to me and she said...’ then that’s ok and not derogatory. It might be used to differentiate her from, say, ‘the male shop assistant’.

Man - ‘ a member of the species Homo Sapiens...’

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/man?s=t

Police regularly use male and female as nouns or adjectives, a convention often imitated by news outlets:

AKRON, Ohio — Police say two males robbed another male of marijuana and then shot the victim in the ankle when he chased after them. — Cleveland.com, 16 Feb. 2019.

Around 9:30 a.m. Monday, a male entered the TD Bank in Franklin and handed a teller a handwritten note instructing her to give him an undisclosed amount of cash, Mattessich said. … The suspect was described as a black male with a medium build and facial hair wearing a grey checkered jacket. — New Jersey Herald, 17 Jan. 2019.

Police say a lone male came in to the store with a weapon. No physical injuries were reported, police said. — London Free Press (UK), 14 Jan. 2019.

The female cyclist was treated by emergency services but died at the scene. — TheAge.com (Melbourne), 14 Aug. 2018.

On Tuesday, March 13, 2018, a female dressed in scrubs entered a seniors' residence in the West end of Ottawa, and proceeded into tenants' rooms and stole various items — Ottawa Police

Medical literature essentially follows the same convention:

A 20-year-old Caucasian female presented with vitiligo on the knees, with the right knee involved more than the left knee.

54-year-old male presented with difficulty in breathing and was diagnosed with asthma. — Research Gate

What the language of police and physicians have in common is that they use male and female purely as physical descriptives. While this usage may seem impersonal and antiseptic, it is not insulting or demeaning.

This is not to say that the two words cannot be used in such a way:

One of the most disturbing things you can discover, is that some female who you don’t even know has been flirting with your man. The truth is that you should not blame the man, as it may not be his fault. — “Women Who Flirt With Unavailable Men,” Totally Her Media (UK)

The next defining influence on my life was feminism. Its first glad morning, in the mid- to late Sixties, was thrilling. Here were women (not girls) who were no longer content to attach themselves like limpets to some male; who wanted to forge their own lives and earn their own mortgages; who thought — no, dammit, knew — they were as good as men. — Angela Lambert, “Beware the march of liberal thought police,” The Independent, 5 July 1993.

In social contexts, reducing a man or woman to either gender or the purely physical can be demeaning, but not always so:

The New Man was once a radical way to describe a male who wholeheartedly accepted equality in domestic life. — “Whatever happened to the term New Man?” BBC News, 30 Jan. 2014.

Curiously enough, while addressing a male as “man,” in either slang or more formal English, is neutral without further context, addressing a woman simply as “woman” is always patronizing and insulting:

“Now see here, woman,”he said. “I don't know who you are, but I assure you that I have nothing but this boy’s best interests in mind.” — Greg Funaro, Alistair Grim's Odditorium, 2015.