to think that all the people who have a problem with people using "girls" instead of "women"

[CartwrightMiss]

Should say "womanfriend" instead of "girlfriend"?

[gron]

They probably say "partner" if they're mature enough to be called a woman. So YABU

ach I sometimes say a girl i went to school with we are 42

I would say partner about adult relationships.

LOL at gron.

Obviously I meant

Surely the difference is the equivalent of 'girlfriend' is 'boyfriend'

Whereas nobody would seriously say my boss is a good boy. Whereas a certain type of arse person might say 'ah, my boss, she's a good girl'.

I'd like to take them all outside and shoot them - but apparently there are laws against it . My Aunty has 'the girls' over - they're all in their 80's

Good boy or girl is quite degrading though. It's something you'd say to a dog.

I'm talking in terms of saying - "met up with a girl I knew at work" etc

I stand by my point though, it's about context and equivalence.

I'd use 'girl' where I would use 'boy', but not otherwise.

Isn't that why feminists don't like it? Because it puts women at a lower status to men? So I think it's fine if its equal.

Well, would it be so bizarre to say, 'I met up with a woman I know at work?'

My Aunty has 'the girls' over - they're all in their 80's

thats fab

I actually hate when I see going out with the girls but id forgive an 80 yr old

and men sometimes say the lads dont they

Yep, sorry, I'm with neo. I say partner.

I don't have issues with 'girls' in context where 'lads' would also work but I do reserve irritation for people who refer to men as 'gentlemen' and women as 'girls' in a professional context, because it's rude.

Boys night out? I hear/see that a lot.

I actually hate when I see going out with the girls

What would you prefer to see? Going out with the women?

Going out with my friends? going out with Liz and Helen? Going out with people from work?

people who refer to men as 'gentlemen' and women as 'girls' in a professional context, because it's rude

Never come across this ever. Literally have never heard anyone saying "gentlemen and girls" or similar.

Gentlemen - Ladies
Men - Women
Boy - Girl

I think people look for sexism sometimes where there really isn't any.

I'm one of those people.

Girlfriend is the equivalent of boyfriend and people tend to be quite young when they use those terms for each other. I wouldn't say "I'm 60 and this is my boyfriend". I think gf and bf are OK but most people would switch to "partner" when it's long term. Also "womanfriend" wouldn't work because sometimes people say "woman friend" meaning I have a friend who is a woman, not romantic partner as in girlfriend. So ner. Also if you used that argument you'd have to say "human" wasn't allowed because it only mentions men. There are plenty of old words which wouldn't be acceptable today if we analysed them. But there's a perfectly good term for adult females and no reason for not using it.

I have an elderly relative who still thinks she is a girl and it drives me up the wall. She is convinced that everyone calls her a girl or young lady. I think she's lying. If a friend visits her and says "Isn't your flat lovely and clean, Joan?" she repeats it later to me as "My friend said, 'Isn't your flat lovely and clean, young lady?'" She has recently taken it one step further and appears convinced she looks under 40 though she's actually over 90 and looks it. So I put people who say girls instead of women in the same category as her - umm, eccentric?

My dh says this and it really irks me. He refers to 'the girls' at work, when in actual fact they are professional women in their forties. Interestingly, he doesn't say 'the men' or 'the boys' at work - they've all got names, you see, so he calls them by name.

macca did it when he highlighted that cycling event at the olympics. Men and girls. I wouldn't do it when the equivalent was 'men' rather than 'boys'.

highjacked not highlighted. Macca has never highlighted anything

partner irritates me - it sounds like a business term.

cartwright - no, I've never heard someone say 'gentlemen and girls' as a phrase. I meant, people who refer to men as gentlemen and women as girls.

And I have heard it a fair bit, including from someone who saw one of the women he was talking to look a bit askance and took the trouble to explain that, apparently, it is a compliment to youthful appearance.

Which is, of course, exactly what everyone in a professional context is most concerned to promote.

I actually hate when I see going out with the girls

What would you prefer to see? Going out with the women?

I dunno it just irrationally irritates me,

Doesn't bother me in the slightest - as long as it's not used in a patronising manner. I would use women/men in a formal or business setting, but otherwise have no problem being referred to a a girl, and I often talk about going out with 'the girls'. Imo it denotes a fondness and informality which I like.

I don't mind 'going out with the girls' for some reason.

I hate 'let's have a girlie night!', though, because for me it suggests the sort of person who thinks a spa day is a brilliant leisure activitiy for girlfriends to bond over, and who probably wants to watch Julia Roberts films.

Totally irrational, I know.

Do you ever have nights out with just your female friends mrsjay?