Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Original poster

Calling adult female employees 'girls'

56 replies

Mandytm · 04/03/2013 15:40

I was just in the post office and there was a sign on the wall saying 'please do not use your mobile phone while the girls are serving you'.

There were 4 women working behind the glass, all aged between 40 and 60 I would say.

It makes me think of the 17th Century when a rich English household might have an adult black man servant and call him 'boy'.

Am I the only one who gets so bugged by things like this?

OP posts:
Original poster
Mandytm · 04/03/2013 16:36

Schooldidi I'm sure it wasn't malicious, but that's the sad thing, that people would write it automatically without thinking.

FireOverBabylon the only man there was in a suit, hovering around in the back, I can't imagine he would ever have to sink so low as serving customers.

OP posts:
Schooldidi · 04/03/2013 15:57

I don't like it either.

I'm quite happy for people to refer to themselves as whatever they want, but an employer should not be referring to employees as girls, or boys.

It probably isn't meant in any malicious way, it's just been put up by somebody who hasn't thought it through all the way.

meditrina · 04/03/2013 15:51

You are not the only one.

Girls refers to minors, and I don't violently object to it being stretched to early 20s, nor if it is used colloquially when 'boy's' could be used for men, nor even in cases where it's an established idiomatic phrase.

But on an official notice to the public about adult staff - ugh.

FireOverBabylon · 04/03/2013 15:51

No, what will they do if they employ a man?

"please do not use your mobile phone whilst being served at the counter" would do the job perfectly well.

ChocolateCoins · 04/03/2013 15:49

Being called 'girl' doesn't bother me. 'lass' on the other hand... Angry

Lottapianos · 04/03/2013 15:45

No, you're not the only one. And I completely agree with your analogy about calling black servants 'boy' - it's the same thing, making the 'girls' seem less powerful and less significant than the person who wrote that notice.

All in all,yuck Sad Angry