5 ms·

Women often refer to each other as girls. Men don't usually to each other as boys.

by mrits 12y ago

JoeAltmaier 12y ago
Like, in "going out with the boys" or "my boys have my back" or "boys will be boys"?
- dijit 12y ago
  all those phrases are used by the immature referring to the immature. those _are_ boys.
  - oalders 12y ago
    It's not uncommon in sports. That's the kind of thing I'd expect to hear in the locker room or on the ice when playing hockey. I don't feel like maturity plays into it there. It's almost a term of endearment.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- mrits 12y ago
  I've literally never said any of those and would feel uncomfortable doing so.
  - ianstallings 12y ago
    But you are aware of these sayings correct? This was not the first time you've heard them, right?
    - mrits 12y ago
      Yes, I am aware. But then again I phrased my original statement to show that there was a small frequency of use of these terms. Where females (in my area) have a very high frequency of referring to each other as girls. Almost like "woman" is a formal term.
      - ianstallings 12y ago
        That's anecdotal at best. These are colloquialisms, they've been around well before you and I were born.
      - amyjess 12y ago
        Yes. I'll gladly refer to myself as a girl, but I only ever use "woman" in formal contexts.
dijit 12y ago
interestingly this might be because girls like to retain some semblance of youth. anecdotally my girlfriend (Russian if that makes any difference) absolutely hates when I refer to her as a young woman, or use the word "woman" at all. She much prefers to be referred to as a girl. I have no issues with being called a man.. not saying that this pattern is everywhere but it's very apparent with her and her family.
- JoeAltmaier 12y ago
  Yet lots of folks say "Mr. Smith? That sounds like my Dad! Call me John!" Which is much the same thing?
  - dijit 12y ago
    but "Mister" is not "Man" even my girlfriend doesn't mind being called "Miss" or "Ms", she might take exception to "Misses".. but I don't think anybody assumes at her age anyway.
- detcader 12y ago
  "girls like to retain some semblance of youth" No critical thought here is necessary, I suppose? It just... so happens that women "like" to look youthful? Maybe it's biological? Just the natural order of things? I am reminded of the ads from the National Geographic I own from 1940.
- GFK_of_xmaspast 12y ago
  http://grecian-formula.com/ http://grecian-formula.com/
BasDirks 12y ago
In Dutch, "jongens" (boys) is very common, even for mixed age and gender. However, jongens taken literally means "young ones", so it's actually very general. Use of "mannen" (men) among a group of adult males is usually actually more ironic than the more general "jongens".
- toothbrush 12y ago
  Native Dutch speaker here, and i beg to differ: i would be very surprised if someone said "Daar staat een groepje jongens" (there's a group of jongens) and meant a group of girls. "Jongens" is definitely masculine.
  - BasDirks 12y ago
    Please read carefully, as I stated "mixed group". How about "jongens, kom", to a group of boys and girls? It's common.
    - toothbrush 12y ago
      I probably worry about this a bit too much, but broadly speaking i try very hard to de-gender my language where possible. E.g., i avoid saying "hey guys" and using 3rd person pronouns other than "they" when referring to undetermined people (such as "the user" and "they" in a technical manual). Therefore, no, i would not find it natural to say "jongens" to a mixed group of people. I used to have a boss in a dev team who always started his emails "Heren, ..." (== gentlemen) which irritated me no end. Apart from the fact that it sounds like a toilet designation (another pet peeve: why, in 2015, do we still have binary gendered public toilets?!) i found it incredibly exclusive language. But indeed, perhaps this is outlier behaviour and others pay less attention. I suppose it's a tic i have because i'm in such a masculine-dominated field -- i try not to make it worse by talking as if i expect everyone to have XY chromosomes. Disclaimer: i have a penis.
detcader 12y ago
You say this as if women couldn't just be going with the dominant language trend, which men put in place.

Women often refer to each other as girls. Men don't usually to each other as boys.

by mrits 12y ago

Women often refer to each other as girls. Men don't usually to each other as boys.

JoeAltmaier 12y ago

Like, in "going out with the boys" or "my boys have my back" or "boys will be boys"?

dijit 12y ago
all those phrases are used by the immature referring to the immature. those _are_ boys.
- oalders 12y ago
  It's not uncommon in sports. That's the kind of thing I'd expect to hear in the locker room or on the ice when playing hockey. I don't feel like maturity plays into it there. It's almost a term of endearment.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
mrits 12y ago
I've literally never said any of those and would feel uncomfortable doing so.
- ianstallings 12y ago
  But you are aware of these sayings correct? This was not the first time you've heard them, right?
  - mrits 12y ago
    Yes, I am aware. But then again I phrased my original statement to show that there was a small frequency of use of these terms. Where females (in my area) have a very high frequency of referring to each other as girls. Almost like "woman" is a formal term.
    - ianstallings 12y ago
      That's anecdotal at best. These are colloquialisms, they've been around well before you and I were born.
    - amyjess 12y ago
      Yes. I'll gladly refer to myself as a girl, but I only ever use "woman" in formal contexts.

dijit 12y ago

interestingly this might be because girls like to retain some semblance of youth. anecdotally my girlfriend (Russian if that makes any difference) absolutely hates when I refer to her as a young woman, or use the word "woman" at all. She much prefers to be referred to as a girl. I have no issues with being called a man.. not saying that this pattern is everywhere but it's very apparent with her and her family.

JoeAltmaier 12y ago
Yet lots of folks say "Mr. Smith? That sounds like my Dad! Call me John!" Which is much the same thing?
- dijit 12y ago
  but "Mister" is not "Man" even my girlfriend doesn't mind being called "Miss" or "Ms", she might take exception to "Misses".. but I don't think anybody assumes at her age anyway.
detcader 12y ago
"girls like to retain some semblance of youth" No critical thought here is necessary, I suppose? It just... so happens that women "like" to look youthful? Maybe it's biological? Just the natural order of things? I am reminded of the ads from the National Geographic I own from 1940.
GFK_of_xmaspast 12y ago
http://grecian-formula.com/ http://grecian-formula.com/

BasDirks 12y ago

In Dutch, "jongens" (boys) is very common, even for mixed age and gender. However, jongens taken literally means "young ones", so it's actually very general. Use of "mannen" (men) among a group of adult males is usually actually more ironic than the more general "jongens".

toothbrush 12y ago
Native Dutch speaker here, and i beg to differ: i would be very surprised if someone said "Daar staat een groepje jongens" (there's a group of jongens) and meant a group of girls. "Jongens" is definitely masculine.
- BasDirks 12y ago
  Please read carefully, as I stated "mixed group". How about "jongens, kom", to a group of boys and girls? It's common.
  - toothbrush 12y ago
    I probably worry about this a bit too much, but broadly speaking i try very hard to de-gender my language where possible. E.g., i avoid saying "hey guys" and using 3rd person pronouns other than "they" when referring to undetermined people (such as "the user" and "they" in a technical manual). Therefore, no, i would not find it natural to say "jongens" to a mixed group of people. I used to have a boss in a dev team who always started his emails "Heren, ..." (== gentlemen) which irritated me no end. Apart from the fact that it sounds like a toilet designation (another pet peeve: why, in 2015, do we still have binary gendered public toilets?!) i found it incredibly exclusive language. But indeed, perhaps this is outlier behaviour and others pay less attention. I suppose it's a tic i have because i'm in such a masculine-dominated field -- i try not to make it worse by talking as if i expect everyone to have XY chromosomes. Disclaimer: i have a penis.

detcader 12y ago

You say this as if women couldn't just be going with the dominant language trend, which men put in place.