EXPLAINING MY BLOG TITLE
I am sick of women who are no longer girls still being called girls.
Boys when they get older are called guys. This word can be used for males of any age, and it is unconnected with the child word “boy”.
We don’t have a similar “casual” word to use for women. So instead we use “girls”. I have heard one person say the word “gals” serves this purpose: however this word is obviously taken off of the child word “girls” so it is still connecting women with girls. It is also an exclusively American word, we don’t use it where I live.
Why I think women are still called “girls” after we become adults = females are not supposed to mature. We are more valuable in this society (to men) if we stay young, and sexy/attractive. We are supposed to be a bit sillier, too. Not as intelligent as our husbands, and not as serious. We can (and should) spend a good amount of time making ourselves look “cute” and sexy (for the men). We wear clothes that make us look smaller, we sit “smaller” than men (legs together/crossed), and we generally try to make ourselves look slimmer/littler/petite. Like a girl. So we look good to guys. In contrast, boys are encouraged to “man-up” and become a man quickly, it is good for them to mature. They aren’t supposed to continue looking like boys, if they do they will be effeminate men, who are ‘less’ than real men.
Calling us women ”girls” is a way to belittle us, ta
lk down to us, treat us as less important. It is patronising.
We are women. We are ladies. We are adults.
- Using the word “girl” for a girlfriend just plain seems creepy. Along with calling one’s girlfriend “baby”. Particularly along with saying, “come to daddy!” (do people ever say that in real life or just on TV? That sounds seriously creepy).
- The sex industry almost always calls it’s female workers “girls”. I absolutely hate that. I understand that for some bizarre reason “girl” is a sexier term than “woman”. But “Ladies” is sexy too, and it shows that the sex worker women are adults, and that they should be respected (not belittled).
IF WE’RE NOT ‘GIRLS’ WHAT ARE WE? WHAT DO WE CALL OURSELVES? = The word “lady” is one possible alternative. The word “lady” used to be used for only upper class white women – and today is still used more for white, well-off women than for non-white or poor women, I think. So using the word “ladies” to refer to all women may be problematic. The word “woman” is better. The only ‘problem’ with the word “woman” is that it is considered sexless, unsexy, boring, prudish, old, plain, and ugly. The word “girl” is seen as sexy. But that is creepy to me, that it has to be like that. “Woman” should be considered sexy, not “girl”! We need to change this.
