why does everyone now say "partner" ???

[jig-sore]

picked this one up from another thread but didn't want to comment there...

why is it now the done thing to say... partner ???

me and my partner went...., spending the day with my partner... etc.

since when did this become acceptable, it really pees me off. my wife is my wife, she used to be my girlfriend shes not my bloody partner.

truth is, this was started by people in same sex relationships to avoid any unpleasantness from others because some rather pathetic people in this world cant except people for who they are.

now the sheep seem to have followed blindly along and everyone uses it.

can we please get back to wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend etc.

 

[MontyVeda]

Totally agree. It's as if revealing the gender of your 'partner' is some big taboo these days

Most of my acquaintances are from the over-pc group... so i took great delight when introducing my girlfriend to them saying, "Have you met mi bird?" and watching their jaws drop. Puerile but fun.

 

[palinurus]

In my case it's because girlfriend started sounding odd after we'd been together a fair old time.

 

[Dan B]

You might, if you are 83 years old and have recently met the love of your life, feel a bit weird referring to her as "girl"friend (or him as "boy"friend) when the terms "girl" and "boy" more usually relate to people under 20.

It's less pronounced than it used to be - the plural forms "girls" and "boys" seem to be applied to people of all ages, for example - but then again, if you're 83 you might not be in the vanguard of linguistic development either.

More fundamentally, though: if it's OK to have a significant relationship with your own choice of one or more other people of whatever sex, gender, race, creed and colour you like, it must surely also be OK to refer to them using whatever term you and they prefer.

 

[steve52]

i like and prefer partner thanks to me it sujests equality, (that may work in my favour) my girfriend wife husband smaks of ownership, but in the interests of equality you call yours what you like and i shall respect it and i expect the same, have i missed any points?

 

[numbnuts]

me and my partner went....,

yeah and it should be my partner and I
and I don't say partner as I ain't got no one, so it is just I and me

 

[jig-sore]

but i dont think people are using it as a sign of equality, i just think they are too stupid to realise it originated out of same sex relationships

i genuinely think they believe its a fashion trend.

another thing... when did female actors start to be called actors ??? i thought they were actresses ??? whats that one about then ??

 

[david1701]

I quite like beee-atch tbh

 

[subaqua]

its almost as bad as " person with parental responsibility " next to mother on the forms we get from eldests school.

why not put Mother/Father /Legal Guardian .


I know one single Father ( wife ran off and left him with the kids ! ) has kicked off about it.

 

[Moodyman]

but i dont think people are using it as a sign of equality, i just think they are too stupid to realise it originated out of same sex relationships

i genuinely think they believe its a fashion trend.

another thing... when did female actors start to be called actors ??? i thought they were actresses ??? whats that one about then ??

That's true and applies to all manner of things.

Our society has become so robotised that we often don't stop and think.

I still get irked by the use of double negatives. Seems if someone has heard someone else use it, then it must be fine.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

It's even trickier when you have to introduce your bit on the side.

"Meet my mistress" raises a few eyebrows.

 

[snorri]

but i dont think people are using it as a sign of equality, i just think they are too stupid to realise it originated out of same sex relationships

I'm not so sure that it started with same sex relationships. I first heard it used by a policeman friend who explained it was the favoured means of address when interviewing witnesses/suspects involved in domestic disturbances. It usually just led to denial and lengthy explanations if the investigating officer made the assumption the couple obviously resident in the same house were actually married to each other, it was more convenient to refer to them as "partners".

 

[Globalti]

Not in France or Italy, it doesn't....

 

[GrasB]

In my case it's because girlfriend started sounding odd after we'd been together a fair old time.

I'm with palinurus on this. The term girl/boyfriend implies that the relationship hasn't matured & has develop into a serious commitment. However a partner implies a more serious &/or long term relationship.

In my mind I've had many girlfriends but my only one partner, she is now my wife. For some reason I don't like to refer to her as my wife, our marriage is a personal mark of our commitment to each other, that commitment was born & solidified long before we got our rings. For this reason I still use the term partner in casual conversation but in more formal conversation she is my wife.

The really of language is that it's evolving all the time & what Dan B said is true, it's up to the individuals to decide which they prefer. If the majority individuals choose a certain phrasing then it becomes the standard colloquial term regardless of its origins. Another reason for using a 'partner' is that with homosexual relationships being far less taboo it solves the embarrassment of having to make an assumption & getting it wrong. Using partner for same-sex & oposite-sex relationships makes more sense in a social context as well as it removes the need to publicise someone sexuality. However you have the information that they are romantically involved with someone.

 

[Arch]

but i dont think people are using it as a sign of equality, i just think they are too stupid to realise it originated out of same sex relationships

i genuinely think they believe its a fashion trend.

another thing... when did female actors start to be called actors ??? i thought they were actresses ??? whats that one about then ??

I genuinely think you're mistaken, in that case.

I don't think it's anything to do with same-sex relationships to start with, and I think language always follows trends - otherwise you'd have prefaced your post with 'Forsooth!' or something.

What does it matter? People use a word they feel is appropriate. Boy- and Girl- friend can seem a bit odd when you're knocking on a bit, and when you're committed long term, but not married, you maybe want to acknowledge the commitment with a word that suits. Also, it's a handy single word for both sexes. And covers married and unmarried people - fair simpler to say 'partners welcome' on an invite, than "boy or girlfriends, husbands or wives welcome".

There's also a nice statement in the meaning of partner - equality, cooperation etc.

Hardly worth getting worked up about.

On the actor/actress front, some women prefer not to have their profession mark them out as one sex or the other - doctors are doctors, male or female, as are nurses, barristers etc. There's no need to differentiate. Some women don't mind, some do - it's just polite to take that into account.