Do women get offended at being called "girls"? (American, call)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Crap, I might be an idiot then. What is the difference?
I'm at an awkward stage where the girls around me are too young to be "ladies" and too old to be "girls".
I'd assume ladies are like 28+ and girls are like under 16.
There's a huge 12 year gap where I have no idea what the fairer sex are.
It takes a lot to offend me. I could not care less what someone calls me. If I don't want to reply, I won't. Whatever. But I can understand someone who might not like it, particularly in either dating or the work place. Unless you are a black man, no one has likely used the word "boy" as an intentional diminutive. I think most women have experienced this.
Crap, I might be an idiot then. What is the difference?
I'm at an awkward stage where the girls around me are too young to be "ladies" and too old to be "girls".
I'd assume ladies are like 28+ and girls are like under 16.
There's a huge 12 year gap where I have no idea what the fairer sex are.
You can say "ladies" in a particularly chivalrous tone.
Or you can say "woman" if you need to describe her sex for whatever reason--"She's the red-headed woman over there."
In these sort of situations, context is everything. Someone may have no problem with saying "I'm going out with the girls tonight" but be insulted if a coworker says "have your girl make copies of this for me." There may also be an underlying racial issue, since pre-Civil rights, many black people were referred to by their first names (not as Mr. or Miss Smith) and called "boy" and "girl" which was definitely less than resepctful.
Bottom line is in a professional work environment, always opt for being more formal. If someone tells you to lighten up, then you know where you stand, but you haven't offended anyone.
I think this is mostly great advice. I do have one difference here, though--in my work place, Hewlett Packard, you don't want to be too formal. People don't address others as "Mr. ___", "Mrs. ____" or "Ms. ___". If anyone did, it would seem odd and maybe facetious, unless it's said to someone you're familiar with, and saying it in fun, and even then it's uncommon. I don't know if that's regional ... I think it's part of HP's corporate culture, at least in the USA.
The only time I hear "boys" is when my dad is referring to the 8-year-old kids we sometimes babysit together.
That's what makes "girls" a bit offensive at times. "Boys" is pretty much exclusively used for actual boys, so to use "girls" for anyone who isn't an actual girl comes across as infantilizing.
Nah. I hear the term 'boys' used all the time with other men as a term of camaraderie. Personally, I think people who devote more than a second's thought to those things really ought to find more important things to worry about.
I think you can try to please everyone, but you will "get it wrong" once in a while, no matter your intent.
Hopefully if your intentions are good and you're trying to be just the right amount of respectful or familiar, the other person will appreciate that and not get offended too easily. That's my take. Intentional disrespect is something else entirely.
In some languages there are 3 ways or more of just saying the word "you", depending on the social situation and perceived "social rank" or whatever. If you choose the wrong one, you've got a problem. There is no way around it; you have to pick one, and pick the right one, even just to say "How are you?". Too familiar--disrespectful. Too formal--perceived as a smartass or non-friend. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that!
Last edited by OregonYeti; 04-10-2012 at 06:53 PM..
Nah. I hear the term 'boys' used all the time with other men as a term of camaraderie. Personally, I think people who devote more than a second's thought to those things really ought to find more important things to worry about.
Really? I've never heard men referred to as "boys" in my life. If that was typical within my social circle, I wouldn't find "girl" in reference to a woman offensive either. However, I don't really concern myself that much with the "girl" vs. other terminology issue. My main reason for contemplating it is because I happened to come across this thread.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
