NerdLounge
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

+12
litterature
Jayce
Robjection
readertorider
jcorozza
eselle28
WJMorris3
PintsizeBro
Enail
Caffeinated
The Wisp
Xexyz
16 posters

Page 1 of 2 1, 2  Next

Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Xexyz Sun Jun 07, 2015 6:18 pm

Am I the only one who's sick of constant references to women as girls? Why is woman such an avoided term?

Xexyz

Posts : 82
Reputation : 22
Join date : 2014-10-01

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by The Wisp Sun Jun 07, 2015 6:37 pm

Xexyz wrote:Am I the only one who's sick of constant references to women as girls?  Why is woman such an avoided term?  

You'll notice that people these days don't use "man" very often either, it's just that there's an alternative to 'boys' in 'guys' that women don't have. I've heard women in their 30s unironically refer to themselves as 'girls'.

I do find it annoying too, however.
The Wisp
The Wisp

Posts : 896
Reputation : 198
Join date : 2014-10-01

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Caffeinated Sun Jun 07, 2015 6:51 pm

Xexyz wrote:Am I the only one who's sick of constant references to women as girls?  Why is woman such an avoided term?  

I'm reminded of the line from the smarmy villain in the movie "UHF": "I don't know how many times I've told them, never call chicks broads."
Caffeinated
Caffeinated

Posts : 455
Reputation : 273
Join date : 2014-12-08

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Enail Sun Jun 07, 2015 6:56 pm

In some situations, I find 'women' sounds overly formal. In some informal contexts, I'd still use 'girl' instead of 'woman,' though never without some distaste. Reaaaaaallly wish there was a female equivalent to 'guy.'
Enail
Enail
Admin

Posts : 4853
Reputation : 2868
Join date : 2014-09-22

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by PintsizeBro Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:00 pm

"Gal" would work if it weren't such a regional term. Should we try to make it happen?

PintsizeBro

Posts : 307
Reputation : 233
Join date : 2015-02-13

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Enail Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:07 pm

I don't think it could work for me, it just sounds so...regional. And I say this as someone who does borrow y'all from time to time. "Lady" seems to be pretty popular, but it kind of makes me cringe. I may be too picky about words Uh-oh
Enail
Enail
Admin

Posts : 4853
Reputation : 2868
Join date : 2014-09-22

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Xexyz Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:20 pm

I think dame should make a comeback.  Then again, I think almost all slang from the roaring twenties should probably make a comeback.

Xexyz

Posts : 82
Reputation : 22
Join date : 2014-10-01

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Enail Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:22 pm

I'm with you on that.
Enail
Enail
Admin

Posts : 4853
Reputation : 2868
Join date : 2014-09-22

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Guest Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:38 pm

The Wisp wrote:
Xexyz wrote:Am I the only one who's sick of constant references to women as girls?  Why is woman such an avoided term?  

You'll notice that people these days don't use "man" very often either, it's just that there's an alternative to 'boys' in 'guys' that women don't have. I've heard women in their 30s unironically refer to themselves as 'girls'.

I do find it annoying too, however.

This has been my experience for the most part when it comes to the use of that vernacular. I've seen a lot of women in their 20s and 30s refer to themselves as girls and I think that's probably a regional thing too since I live in Southern California. Everything is much more "relaxed" I guess with the local populace. -shrug-

Enail wrote:In some situations, I find 'women' sounds overly formal. In some informal contexts, I'd still use 'girl' instead of 'woman,' though never without some distaste. Reaaaaaallly wish there was a female equivalent to 'guy.'

Yes! This is why I use both interchangeably.

Xexyz wrote:I think dame should make a comeback.  Then again, I think almost all slang from the roaring twenties should probably make a comeback.

Mmm, 1920s slang is always a must. I learned that from the Simpsons. :3

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by WJMorris3 Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:57 pm

I tend to favor 'lady' although I have quite a few female friends that will emphatically deny being a lady. Of course, then you have those people who have seemingly made "m'lady" a thing.

_________________
EREMITAE USQUE AD MORTEM
WJMorris3
WJMorris3

Posts : 507
Reputation : 129
Join date : 2014-10-01

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by eselle28 Sun Jun 07, 2015 7:59 pm

I'm fine enough with "gal" and would also be okay if "guy" exited the language in favor of only "men" and "boys" (for children). Mind you, I'm not calling for it, but it'd be a fair trade for not hearing "girls" used for adult women.

I find "dame" less charming, since it tend to think of it as something a man calls a woman (generally one he doesn't respect much as a person) rather than her using to refer to herself or other women, and "lady" has a lot of classist associations
eselle28
eselle28
General Oversight Moderator

Posts : 1994
Reputation : 999
Join date : 2014-09-24

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by jcorozza Sun Jun 07, 2015 8:06 pm

Lady seems different to me depending who uses it. I always felt odd calling my female friends my "girlfriends", so sometimes it's "the ladies" or "my ladyfriends". But I think it can be different when guys use it. Like, "How're we all doing tonight, ladies" rubs me the wrong way a little, though I don't think I can articulate why.
jcorozza
jcorozza

Posts : 460
Reputation : 191
Join date : 2015-03-08

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by PintsizeBro Sun Jun 07, 2015 8:09 pm

I have used "lady type human" before, but only with tongue planted firmly in cheek. I don't think it'll catch on.

PintsizeBro

Posts : 307
Reputation : 233
Join date : 2015-02-13

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by jcorozza Sun Jun 07, 2015 8:18 pm

Oh, I use ___-type people a lot!
jcorozza
jcorozza

Posts : 460
Reputation : 191
Join date : 2015-03-08

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Enail Sun Jun 07, 2015 8:25 pm

My dislike of 'lady' is more personal than rational, it feels like it's got a connotation of either 'proper'ness or strong feminine gender performance or both, that makes me quite uncomfortable. And "I might be a dame, but I ain't no lady," is the best way I've found to discourage people using it on me without making a big thing of it, so I have a fondness for dame because of that as well as because 20s slang is the best slang.

PintsizeBro, you're not the only one who uses 'lady' in more tongue-in-cheek variants.  As well as "lady-type human," I see a lot of women discussing women in their profession with "lady [their profession]s" with a bit of an old-timey vibe. And "lady-bits" is one of the best silly euphemisms for female genitalia. I find them more tolerable than the straight-faced version.
Enail
Enail
Admin

Posts : 4853
Reputation : 2868
Join date : 2014-09-22

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Guest Sun Jun 07, 2015 8:25 pm

So, interesting linguistic fact -- "guy" used to be a pejorative term, and became neutral-to-positive over time. It started meaning someone who was sloppy and poorly dressed, "like a Guy Fawkes effigy." But the negative started being used playfully, and has lost all it's negative meaning.

I think the problem with slang for "woman" is that invariably, people will use it badly, and it will start to be viewed as insulting. I mean, "dame" isn't in any way an offensive term, and neither is "lady," but when they are used offensively, we start to bristle against it. I think it's a lot easier to laugh off the informality and slanginess when you're in a position of social power and authority than when you have to be defensive of your right to a seat at the table.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by readertorider Sun Jun 07, 2015 8:29 pm

PintsizeBro wrote:"Gal" would work if it weren't such a regional term. Should we try to make it happen?

I had a guy I worked with who called me "gal" and it just felt weird (to me it has connotations of poodle skirts).

"Woman" feels weird both because I'd feel strange claiming the adult term when I don't feel like a responsible adult, and because it feels disrespectful to call someone else a woman ("Get me another coffee, woman") when "lady" often works just as well and feels more polite ("the lady at the cash register"). Both "woman" and "lady" though do seem rather formal.

Then again many people hate calling others "lady". "Dame" is an actual title, so at least initially using that as a term would feel... imprecise? Also, I think the same classicist associations apply to "dame" as to "lady".

jcorozza wrote:Lady seems different to me depending who uses it. I always felt odd calling my female friends my "girlfriends", so sometimes it's "the ladies" or "my ladyfriends". But I think it can be different when guys use it. Like, "How're we all doing tonight, ladies" rubs me the wrong way a little, though I don't think I can articulate why.

Yeah, thinking back that also bothers me. Like the terms of respect are there without the actual respect or that we're being coddled/humored and he doesn't think we'll notice...

I think "girls" has such traction because young women are the typical beauty standard, so being labelled as younger is sometimes something of a complement in a nonprofessional capacity? Also there aren't any good alternatives. Maybe we just need a completely new word.
readertorider
readertorider

Posts : 155
Reputation : 58
Join date : 2014-10-23

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Robjection Sun Jun 07, 2015 9:18 pm

readertorider wrote:Maybe we just need a completely new word.
If "guy" came from "Guy Fawkes", I wonder if there are any super ancient, lost to the ages, archaic, olden times names for women that could work as the basis for such a new word.

_________________
The above post contains Robjectionable content.
Robjection
Robjection

Posts : 386
Reputation : 102
Join date : 2014-10-01

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Jayce Sun Jun 07, 2015 9:56 pm

To be honest I don't really get what the fuss is, in my opinion all these different things are just synonyms, I think its ok to call guys boys, or males or men, same with women as girls, female- unless people are specifically trying to use certain terms with intentions to insult, what significant differences does it actually make?

Jayce

Posts : 212
Reputation : 68
Join date : 2014-10-03

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by litterature Sun Jun 07, 2015 10:00 pm

I strongly dislike both "man" and "woman". They remind me of cut-throat suits pushing for their careers, Adam and Eve, pictures of genitalia in anatomy books, wives in their kitchens and John Wayne "being a man". To me a boy is any male under around 35 and a girl any female under around 35, and I find this much more natural and respectful than the loaded "man" and "woman". Personally I'm not too happy when I'm called a "man" other than in a bureaucratic context.
litterature
litterature

Posts : 240
Reputation : 94
Join date : 2015-04-03

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by waxingjaney Sun Jun 07, 2015 10:09 pm

That is... peculiar.
waxingjaney
waxingjaney

Posts : 503
Reputation : 291
Join date : 2014-10-03

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by litterature Sun Jun 07, 2015 10:35 pm

waxingjaney wrote:That is... peculiar.

Why? "Be a man" is an extremely unpleasant thing to hear, isn't it? I don't want to "be a man". I also don't want play the roles that I'm supposed to play "as a grown-up man". And I don't think any girl is striving to be Margaret Thatcher, either. To be honest I really don't understand how anyone could ever want to be a "man" or a "woman", or a "responsible adult" (lol, isn't that like really conceited and pretentious anyway? or like those random scenes that all TV series seem to have where a character takes a break from investigating ritual murders and has a fight with their wife just because, and then they say things like "like responsible adults" and "i bust my ass so you can live here and feed our 90 beautiful kids and this is what I get?!!!", lol), but to each their own. I certainly am not going to judge their choices as long as they don't expect me to "be a man".
litterature
litterature

Posts : 240
Reputation : 94
Join date : 2015-04-03

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Guest Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:56 am

I just use woman in all contexts. I'm not a fan of the x-type people thing, nor do I think gal works. At all.

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by The Wisp Mon Jun 08, 2015 2:20 am

MapWater wrote:I just use woman in all contexts. I'm not a fan of the x-type people thing, nor do I think gal works. At all.

I'm with you here, except I will occasionally revert to 'girl' if the person I'm talking to is using it in that way. 'Gal' just sounds awkward when not said in a southern US accent.

WRT men, guys, boys, etc. I tend to be most comfortable with 'guy' in day-to-day language, though to be honest I wish people used 'men' even if it sounds a bit weird at first in certain circumstances.
The Wisp
The Wisp

Posts : 896
Reputation : 198
Join date : 2014-10-01

Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Guest Mon Jun 08, 2015 3:14 am

The Wisp wrote:
MapWater wrote:I just use woman in all contexts. I'm not a fan of the x-type people thing, nor do I think gal works. At all.

I'm with you here, except I will occasionally revert to 'girl' if the person I'm talking to is using it in that way. 'Gal' just sounds awkward when not said in a southern US accent.

WRT men, guys, boys, etc. I tend to be most comfortable with 'guy' in day-to-day language, though to be honest I wish people used 'men' even if it sounds a bit weird at first in certain circumstances.

Yeah, I use guy a lot for men. I use men a fair bit when I can, however. 'Gal' may sound awkward without the correct accent, but the Aussie 'Sheila' is abhorrent no matter what. Laughing

Guest
Guest


Back to top Go down

"Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people. Empty Re: "Girl," "woman" and other words for adult female-type people.

Post by Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Page 1 of 2 1, 2  Next

Back to top


 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum