Are you a woman or a girl?
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
30 Comments
I’ve been thinking about this lately! I used to always call myself and every female over 18 women, but lately I’ve been using “girl” sometimes and I’m not sure why. I think it’s because there aren’t any casual equivalents that sound less formal than “women”…..try “I’m going out with the women!”….that sounds too stilted. Men don’t say “I’m going out with the men”….they say “guys”.
So, what’s the female equivalent of “guys”?
Don’t know…sometimes you’ll hear “ladies” in that context (such as “Ladies night out”) even though lady can obviously also be a much more formal term as well.
Maybe it’s just a matter of personal choice. For example, I never say I’m going out with the guys, I say I’m going out with the fools or I’m hanging out with the other freaks tonight.
Of course those descriptions are tongue in cheek and probably say more about me than about the people I’m actually talking about.
Fools.
I don’t know. . .but I’m not a girl, I’m an old lady. . .But I go out with the “young uns”
Hi SN, hope you are enjoying your Fall. Idaho is having a beautiful one!
Hugs
Shirl
Whoa…wait a minute, let me put on my glasses. It IS Shirl! Hey you old broad! 😉
Gals.
gals, as in guys and gals?
playoff’s Boo:
Colorado Rockies (90-73) v Philadelphia Phillies (89-73)
1st time in 12 years…starting tomorrow in your yard…look out!
lTMF’sA
His yard???? His yard???? Fuck that. The dude’s a Yankees fan who doesn’t even have the common decency to forgo the Giants and root for the Jets. Shit, he probably thinks Kobe Bryant and the Atlanta Braves are pretty awesome too. The man roots for winners and champions, and that means that no yard, field, court or rink in Philadelphia counts as his. Not ever.
Kobe Bryant and the Braves are annoying.
But I am a Yanks fan. I watched zero innings of Phils baseball this year outside of a bar. I don’t even know their starting rotation. But I’ll be rooting for them to make the World Series and I’m grateful to them for humiliating the Mets.
And, Chris. The Jets? The effing Jets? Are you kidding me? Geeeeeeeee-men. Only.
I don’t understand Yankees fans. It’s like rooting for Goliath with a bottomless wallet. Go Tribe. Sheesh.
It’s just common decency. If you’re going to root for the winningest baseball team on earth, you should at least try to make up for it by rooting for a lousy, mostly hopeless football team. The Jets are that team. The Giants, despite their current reign of suck, have a winning, glory filled history. If you’re going to root for them, you should really be an effing Mets fan. Didn’t your parents teach you anything?
of all the slang terms for women, the only positive one I know of is “broad”.
“Chicks”, “girls”, and “gals” are all infantile.
“Bitches” is pretty hostile, and acceptable only when spoken by other women: it’s not all purpose the way “guys” is.
“Hottie”, “doll”, “sweetie”, and the like are all expressions of male sexuality.
But when I think of broads, I think of Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Madeline Kahn, and other strong women. Bessie Smith was a broad. Billie Holiday was one talented broad. And you didn’t want to be on the wrong side of a broad like Mother Jones.
my girlfriend uses the term too once in awhile, although she’s partial to “the girls”. I wish she’d change to “the broads”, cus she’s a heck of a broad herself and I’m a lucky fella to have her.
I sort of like “broad” too, although I think originally it was meant as a derogatory term for a woman who had too much confidence in herself and was too loud. Fuck ’em. I’m a broad and proud of it. I am not, however, a gal or a bitch….ever.
I’m sure it was probably meant that way in the past, but I think that it’s also one of those terms that’s outdated enough that it can be reclaimed and redefined.
“Dame” is another good one, although to use it properly, you probably have to be at a horse race. even then you risk sounding like a 1930s gangster.
I stopped being a girl when I started paying all of my bills. I’m a grown woman and I will be characterized as such.
I detest the use of “girl” in any setting or situation that is formal or professional. I don’t use “girl” unless I’m with someone I love. E.g., I use “hanging out with the girls” to describe to going out w/ my friends–to someone like my husband or my mother. To work colleagues, “I’m meeting friends.”
Or, the use of “girl” denotes tight friendship, i.e. “That’s my girl.” In more formal situations, “She’s my best friend.” In conversation with my friends, I might start off by saying, “Girl, you will not believe…”
Other than that, it’s highly inappropriate. Won’t be using “gal” either. That’s all wrong. Being called a “lady” is just fine, too. (Just don’t expect a doormat.)
But I REALLY detest and friggin’ hate the term “female,” as in “I don’t hang out with a lot of females” or “she’s the type of female I’d date.” Grrrr!! Female what, exactly? Frog? Giraffe? Jeez, I just cannot stand that. It’s as if the very thought of even saying “woman” is scary.
I don’t use “broad” in formal situations because it still seems to carry a bit of a negative connotation. I use it admiringly, when a woman shows that she doesn’t take any shit off of anyone. Usually, she’s older. But again, time and place is key.
Maybe we should rehabilitate “Dame.” It sort of has the chutzpah of a “broad” and the classy connotation of “lady” without sounding stilted.
I’ll go along with the designation ‘broad'(hey we finally have something to thank the sexist Rat Pack for or the Sinatra song…That’s Why the Lady is a Tramp was a good riff on labels actually)
Coming of age in the 70′ and 80’s used to drive me crazy with all the stupid language describing girls and women..all us old broads here can remember I’m sure being called ‘tomato, chick, girlie or any ‘cute’ name any guy even strangers thought they could call us…or not so cute name if we rebuffed them. Truly a verbal minefield of bullshit back then and truthfully listening to some young people not a lot seems to have changed in some boys/young mens minds and their use of language describing women.
And I don’t think it’s acceptable ever for women to call other women ‘bitches’ as terms of endearment as many do, it just sounds stupid to me. Then again that word is just a pet peeve of mine and I have probably only used it a few times in my entire life.(I can say fuck 50 times today but bitch is just a word I can’t seem to say)
Girl is a bit of ambiguous word for me..when I hear ‘girls night out’ I don’t picture a bunch of teeny boppers but grown women so in a way it does stand for grown-up women in my mind..that said I do wish though there was another word that could be used…’Ladies’ or ‘Gals’ is ok but somehow just doesn’t quite do it either.
I don’t like the word bitch in any context – equating women with dogs is not a good thing, no matter the context.
I hate the term “ladies”. It is just way too prim and proper. It reminds me of those mean old teachers that would tell me to “sit like a lady”. Fuck that. I will sit any way I want to. ;>)
Like others, I was adamant about saying “woman” and was nearly fired from my job once when I started calling all the men in the office “boys” since they called all the women “girls”. The manager was pretty pissed at me, but he did get the point. Now I can say “girls night out” or “girlfriend”, but still try to maintain some sense of dignity for women past puberty.
You rock for doing that!!
Prim and proper and know your place…that is what the word ‘Ladies’ usually conjures up for me also. In particular a group of women from the 50’s standing around someones kitchen, in their nice little shirtwaist dresses while the men are in the living room talking about you know important stuff….cause they shouldn’t bother their pretty little heads with what the menfolk are talking about.
I didn’t call myself a woman until I was in my late 20s. I just didn’t feel grown-up enough. I wasn’t a girl either, so I don’t know what exactly I called myself instead. Person?
Now – anyone visibly in their 20s is “woman”.
If someone is in their teens, I go old school and call them “young woman”. Sometimes I get all grandma and call them “young lady”.
Girls are girls, as in not visibly older than 12.
I have to confess that I sometimes take a perverse pleasure in calling men boys, as in asking, “is that some sort of boy thing” when I see guys doing something stupid.
The real problem is that there is no female equivalent of “guy”.
Um, neither?
(I know, not talking to me – I’ll see my way out now…)
:o))
I’m one of only two guys on my floor where I work and whatever I call the women there, I make sure to do it with respect;-)
And a damn smart boy you are. 😉
Make that “great respect”.
Just another trick question to get men in trouble. You can’t go wrong with calling a woman or a girl “senorita”.
Your Majesty works too.
is that to be said before or after one kisses your hand with the white glove??
“Mistress” also works!
I sort of like Rumpole’s “She Who Must Be Obeyed” {g}