Also does anyone find it odd how often society calls grown women girls while they stick to men when referring to men without a second thought? I still do it when Iâm not paying attention.
Fun use of âboysâ has been really popular for quite some time. Me and the boys. Boys will be boys.
Hell, a business or industry run primarily by men in their fifties and older can be referred to as âa boys club.â
Those are specific phrases but yeah I getcha. And you could argue, like some other replies said, sometimes âboysâ is used in casual ways, âgirlsâ is used as an equivalent to âguysâ, it can mean âgalsâ too. Fair points but I do believe people have some kind of aversion to âwoman/womenâ and wonât ever use if in a fun context. itâs just an uptight sounding word for some reason.
Stereotypically, women always strive to look as young as possible, so calling one a girl can be seen as a compliment. While men, stereotypically strive to appear mature, hence calling one a boy can be considered an insult.
I donât disagree with you that society does think that way, but I disagree with the sentiment so much.
Iâm 33 and afab. I accepted being called a âgirlâ until I was about 23 (probably not a coincidence that that was the age at which I graduated college), but it started chafing at like 16, even though I didnât have a good alternative at the time (because I agree that âfemaleâ as a noun feels gross). If someone called me a girl now I would correct them without hesitation in basically every scenario outside of a eulogy or wedding speech.
I really wish there was a better option. I donât really like âwoman,â but itâs better than gal, lady, dudette, chick, or girl imo. Iâm perfectly fine with guy or dude, especially in plural, but Iâm probably an egg, so that colors my perspective for the singular use a little.
I honestly donât see this changing any time soon because there are biological incentives behind both stereotypes. And, anecdotally, my gf (40+) will pout if in some context I refer to her as a woman, and be like ânoooo, Iâm a girl⌠:(â. Semi-jokingly, of course, but only semi.
Same as the other reply, I donât disagree. Do I think thereâs mal intent? Nah. But Iâm sure this has an unconscious effect on how we perceive women. Besides lots of women look young without even trying, I think with the improvement of medicine and public health, people in general are just looking younger nowadays so we should nip this habit in the butt.
