To think that calling a tiny baby a 'sexy beast' is a bit odd?

[Catsize]

Just that really. Was in a shop getting passport photo done and the lady behind me in the queue was talking to her baby, who was perhaps 4wks old or so.
She started off by affectionately calling him 'fatty' repeatedly, before getting him from his pushchair and making remarks like 'oooh, you are such a sexy little thing', 'ooooh, we are going to get your photo done because you are such a sexy little beast, aren't you?'. Apart from the obvious, that the child was neither fat nor sexy, I cannot articulate why this made me feel so uncomfortable, and I just found the whole thing a little odd. Is it me?...

Yuck. YANBU

To be honest, as always, language is elvoving and changing.
Words have different meanings. I remember being rather bemused when young people started using the word 'sick' to mean awesome!

The word 'sexy' is being used more and more in casual language to mean beautiful.

I don't think it is going away anytime soon I'm afraid!

No. Just yuck, yuck, yuck. YADNBU!

Very odd. Yeuuk.

YABU. Yes, the word 'sexy' has 'sex' in it and traditionally is used to mean something appearing sexual, but as a PP said the meaning has changed to some extent. I also hear people call food, clothes, scents, etc. 'sexy' all the time. It's quite obvious the mother meant it in that sense, rather than in a sexual sense.

I can't stand it either but it does seem to be more prevalent these days. I was leaving a primary school the other day after a meeting and heard a Mum say to a boy who could only have been 5 or 6 "where's ma sexy bhooyyy?" when he came running out into the playground. Made my flesh crawl a bit.

I know a mum who calls her boy 'stud'.

I don't think the mum was creepy...probably just a bit thick!

It makes me uncomfortable too but sexy does actually have some other uses - eg in marketing - and it's possible that it's now just being used to mean "gorgeous" or something similar.

In my early days on MN there was a discussion about this and someone reported visiting a playgroup where the kids were all affectionately addressed as either "Trouble" (the boys) or "Sexy" (the girls)!

Not much shocks me but I'm afraid I would have made a cats bum mouth and got out of there.

YADNBU
I hate this kind of language being used about babies and children and the accompanying inappropriate, slogan-emblazoned clothing made for them.

YABU. It isn't "a bit odd"; it's totally fucking bonkers.

Yanbu. Calling a baby sexy is weird. I do call 4 week old ds2 "little fat baby" though because he's getting gorgeously chubby.

Once SIL said ds (at time he was about 1) was "so flirty".... flirty? flirty? flirt? what?
Babies absolutely flirt. Shamelessly. This has nothing to do with sex, and everything to do with engaging with adults in order to be taken care of.

I do think that sexy has a (fairly recent) secondary meaning, suggesting general appeal rather than sexual attraction. It sounds odd to hear it if you're not used to it though.

YADNBU, I can't stand anything sexual said when referring to children, only maybe the VERY light things like when a baby boy once smiled at me my Mum said to his Mother "he's starting young"! , anything other than that and certainly words like that are wholly inappropiate and not on.

I would still judge her as being thick as shit

I also dislike the use of 'flirt' when it comes to babies/children. Sorry Ninja, but i am going to have to disagree with you there. The definition of flirt is a sexual behaviour, if you personally use it differently to mean get attention then you may get eyebrows raised, because it doesn't mean that at all. It either means to attract sexually or to experiment with concepts.

Definition:

VERB

1 [NO OBJECT] Behave as though sexually attracted to someone, but playfully rather than with serious intentions:
she began to tease him, flirting with other men in front of him
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
SYNONYMS
1.1 (flirt with) Experiment with or show a superficial interest in (an idea, activity, or movement) without committing oneself to it seriously:
a painter who had flirted briefly with Cubism
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
SYNONYMS
1.2 (flirt with) Deliberately expose oneself to (danger or difficulty):
the need of some individuals to flirt with death

Mrs Koala - I was just about to post that!

'Sexy' I don't like it at all but 'flirty' applied to a baby makes me feel sick to my stomach. I know it's not meant to harm or offend by those who say it but really, JUST DON'T SAY IT! 'Oooh, are you flirting with me? You are aren't you? Yes you are! You little flirt!'

Boak.

mother is a little bit dim, perhaps?

Was 18 when dd1 was born. I have never caled any of my children 'sexy'.

MIL on the other hand has. I don't like it. I have said I don't like it. Still the in-laws use the term.

I also didn't like them kissing my Children on the mouth. Yet they still did. Dd1 used to turn her head away and they used to say she was being rude.

Different social backgrounds I guess.