Elsie has some interesting thoughts on why we often refer to ourselves as 'guys' and 'girls' rather than men and women.
"I feel there is an element of self-fulfilling prophecy about how we address ourselves. If we call ourselves boys and girls, then we don't feel like adults. If we start addressing ourselves as men and women, perhaps we start feeling like adults (whatever that means)."
I'd like to just use 'man' and 'woman' if that's what we are, but it feels kinda awkward when I say it. And I must say that I never know what term I should use with the opposite sex. Girls? Women? Ladies?
'Girl' sounds young and overly familiar. 'Woman' sounds serious and scientific. 'Lady' sounds flowery and Jane Austeny, or sometimes a bit creepy (eg. Hey, laydeeeeez).
What's a boy/guy/man to do.
Huldra Forsvant (Theodor Kittelsen)
Huldra Forsvant (Theodor Kittelsen)
11 comments:
how do you know elsie?? Small world...
Hey Soph. I don't know Elsie, but Jess commented on my blog once, so I looked at her blog 'Jellsie' which she writes with Elsie, and I really liked it and added it to the list.
interesting, yeah. i think i've had similar thoughts, but never expressed them coherently. and, yeah, depending on context i don't particularly relish being a "girl" or a "woman" or a "gal" or a "lady" or a "ma'am" or a "miss" or a "female." guess that leaves wench? ;)
not sure if this is a new england thing or more widespread, but i'm quite comfortable using "guys" to address a mixed crowd as well -- "hey, you guys!" -- but will then shift quite seamlessly into using "guys" to mean only men when it's paired opposite "girls" -- "girls think totally differently from guys" -- and, oddly enough, then i don't mind being a "girl" at all.
go figure.
wench. hehe.
Jellsie is a good blog isn't it? Elsie and I used to go to church together ages ago.
By the way, I think "ladies" for women is the goer. Girls is fine too, but only if you are a girl. It's all a bit too political these days...
Gosh, you see, it's all too tricky.
Yeah, I often do the 'guys' thing, adressing a group of males and females. But I secretly wonder when I do if the are offended.
Soph, I'll try 'ladies' a bit more, but I do feel like a bit of a goose saying it.
ps- Soph, your blog's been doing weird things the last day or so.. I can only see two posts, but nothing older.
My 90-something grandma still calls her daughters (all 60+) "the girls". It's all relative.
In a social context with people you know, I think "girls" is ok, but I guess that might change as the years tick over. "Ladies" sounds a little pompous and insincere, to my ears...
how about, "Yo, Woman!"? :P
Craig- Yeah I agree with 'ladies' sounding a bit pompous. It never quite sits right.
Apple- Hi, thanks for stopping by:) 'Yo Woman' it is!
The only person who is allowed to call me a 'lady' is Old Spice Guy.
When I was in my late teens and had been going to uni for a year I thought one of the nicest compliments was to be called "lady" as opposed to "woman" from some of my degenerate male uni mates.
When said uni mates called me "woman" (yeah, said in that "yo, woman" voice) I would respond with "What, boy?" You should have seen them get all upset at being called "boy"; what an attack on their dignity; they learnt not to call me "woman". :-)
And my mother and her sister refer to their husband and brother-in-law as "the boys" even though both men are a decade or more older than these two ladies. When I was growing up we knew to whom they were referring ("Go call the boys up for lunch") as I only have sisters. However, when my male cousins starting growing up it was a bit harder to know.
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