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.
I don't care if my husband refers to me as "the wife" or "my wife."
Lord knows he could certainly be calling me much worse.
__________________ ____________________________________________
My posts as a Mod will always be in red.
Be sure to review Terms of Service: TOS
And check this out: FAQ
Moderator: Relationships Forum / Hawaii Forum / Dogs / Pets / Current Events
I guess to give clarity to who we are referring. Shelli and Jamy might confusing to others
I wasn't talking about not using first names. I was referring to "the" as opposed to "my."
And it seems there are a lot of different opinions about the usage! Personally I don't find "my wife" or "my husband" possessive or insulting, any more than when I say "my son" instead of "the son," or he says "my mother" instead of "the mother," but apparently some do.
And the regional aspect is interesting, too. I don't hear it where I live, either, but I do see men use "the wife" on C-D and other boards.
Reading a post on C-D recently I was struck, again, by several men calling their wives "the wife." Saying "the wife did this or said that" reminds me of someone saying "the dog chewed up my shoes." I don't think I've ever heard a woman say "the husband." Usually it's "my husband."
Any thoughts on why this is? It seems a little, I don't know, distancing or alienating to me.
Meh... not a problem.
Really.
I call my husband DH on message boards. That's not distancing or alienating either. It's just message board speak.
Guess you would really be upset to know that my pastor calls his wife "the little Mrs", eh?
Oh good lord. My wife and my husband aren't negative at all. "The Wife" is simply another way of saying "The ol ball and chain' and could also be used in jest.
It wasn't over the top enough to convince you that it was facetious, especially since I let the air out of the preposterous balloon?
...but then I try not to read too much into something so inherently ambiguous.
"The wife" does in fact emphasis "a will of her own", which can occur in many contexts including "what to get the wife for Christmas?". It just means operating independently. The statement what to give "the wife" sounds like a bit more of an intimidating hill to climb to understand what she wants. Some contexts may not imply a desirable will of her own, and this is quite common. So is a husband's will of his own also expressed as undesirable, often with more overt language.
The OP was musing this was some strategic , overtly planned, linguistic oppression the secret society of men routinely concoct.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,700 posts, read 41,742,544 times
Reputation: 41381
Good lord. I think people these days over-analyze every word that is spoken just to look for something to be offended about. This is a prime example.
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.
word that is spoken just to look for something to be offended about. This is a prime example.
