Interesting. I'm thirty-something and I do seem to remember my grandparents using "jerk" to mean "idiot", but for my entire life I've always thought of it as a kid-friendly way to say "asshole".

It always confused me when my grandparents would call someone who was perfectly nice a "jerk", and it wasn't until I watched the Steve Martin movie four or five years ago that I understood why.

I've only really heard women use the term jerk, ascribed to a man.

I always found it notable because it seemed to be ascribed to behavior of that special and peculiar class where The behavior benefits the man over the concerns of the woman, with an undercurrent that the women will tolerate it because the man is of a high reproductive value.

Often to me the behavior rises to what I would think would be despicable, that is something that should result in social rejection.

I'm hoping to not unleash an incel argument here.