If you find the use of BSO "offensive", I have to say that there's not really enough genuinely offensive stuff going on in your life.
I'm not a particular bike snob. My main bike is a very very very old Dawes Galaxy and I have no doubt that I get ignored by roadies and MTBers alike because of it. But I don't care, it suits me and is a useful bike. The point is that it was a top notch bike in its day and it's still very much fit for purpose. It's a good enough frame to justify spending money on new kit when the old stuff wears out and (best of all) you can pick one up secondhand for less than the cost of a Tesco "MTB".
And that's the difference between a cheap bike and a BSO, for anyone who's still struggling with it. As Mike Burrows once said, "you don't get a mountain bike for £99. You get a heap of shoot". But you can get a perfectly good bike for £99, you've just got to ignore all the marketing hype and go for something unfashionable and secondhand. BSOs are heavy, loaded with cheap gimmicks which no one needs (suspension, anyone?) and will put anyone off cycling in the fifteen minutes it takes for the gears to go out of adjustment. Yes, people ride them, but only for as long as there's no choice; it's unlikely that anyone rides one and thinks "hmmmm, I'd like to do more of this".
Additionally, they're almost impossible to service because it's just not worth spending any money on upgrading (or even replacing) components. Try telling someone they need a £15 bottom bracket and a £15 headset, and perhaps a chain at a tenner. Oh, and once you've replaced the chain you'll probably need a new casette ... that'll be another ten quid. So there's £50, which is half the cost of their bike ... who's going to go for that? Aside from this, they're no fun to work on because all the bolts are made of liquorice and even when you've installed all the new bits you know that the bike is still a heap of shoot and always will be.
BSOs serve no purpose save to make car companies and supermarkets appear green and hip and trendy. Point and laugh at anyone you see riding one. Soon no one will sell them and the world will be a better place.
Does being female exempt me from this stuff? 
I think it is a matter of never having learnt and being utterly inept when it comes to anything technical or mechanical 
