to think that it's weird to call boys 'little men' - would you call a girl 'little woman'?

[HouseOfBamboo]

Just that, really. Obviously 'lil' man is entirely unreasonable.

I don't know if it's weird per se, but I hate little man, lil man , wee man, little lady ... all of them. So twee.

I like little shite though.

"Baby lady" here I know it's really cringe-worthy but got into the habit when she was a baby and it's stuck nearly 6 years later! I try to keep it contained at home but always really squirm when it slips out in public...she's going to hate me when she's a teenager!....

I think people are missing the OP's point here. Of course it's not weird to say little man because it's so common. I think what OP is asking why is it so common when the equivalent of "little woman" would sound odd.

Yes, that's kind of it. I think 'little man' seems weird to me because I didn't hear it used till I reached my 20s, and it always made me think of a shrunken 'Grandpa in your pocket' type figure rather than a cute child.

'Little woman' sounds really odd, especially as it has derogatory repressed housewife type overtones.

I would never think of calling a girl a 'little lady' because it seems wrong (to me) to call a pre-pubescent child something that implies post-pubescent maturity, and I hate all that 'little diva / princess' stuff.

I appreciate that others don't see it like that as they are such common terms though.

Ooh yes, I love Little Women, so if I'd had a daughter I probably would have called her, "Little Woman," (in the hope that she was a feisty Jo March character).
I did used to call my wonderful 2 boys, "Little Man," as a term of endearment. As my eldest is now 6ft 3", it's no-longer appropriate as he'd likely rest his elbow on my shoulder. Bless!

Derek, yes, I've no doubt. I can hear and see it in my head.

it's not weird.

I'd say wee man or wee woman

I think either little man or little lady is horribly twee. I suppose I might just use "young man", but only in a fairly ironic way as it does seem rather dated.

I wouldn't use little man or little woman/lady.

I do use young man/young lady though usually if they are being a bit cheeky.

I don't think any of these terms is particularly weird, I just personally don't like little man/little lady, they are in the same category as hun and hubby for me.

I call DS and DD "chaps", sometimes. They both refer to each other, me and DH as "guys" on occasion.

I'm more annoyed when women/girls are called "guys"

I say "Little Lady" to my dd's

In fact only half hour ago I picked up my 12 week old after her nap and said "hello pretty little lady" she gave me the biggest smile

My aunt calls her youngest granddaughter "little woman" :)

I call dd little lady it's not exactly child a abuse

Where I live the local way of referring to children is My woman or My man, - as in 'how you doing my woman?' so it doesn't sound odd to me.

And where I grew up, the older folk always called girls 'little maid or little maidy' which I think is quite nice.

I think you are right and that it shows that being a man is seen as being a positive thing, whereas being a "little woman" would be seen as a negative, i.e. sexualising and suggesting domesticity.

Just my thoughts.

YANBU it winds me up. Sexist. The opposite to 'little man' isn't little woman or little lady, it seems to be 'little princess'. Boak. Can someone please change society before DD is old enough to buy into this tripe?

When we're playing with toy people I try to call the female ones the woman rather than the lady. It sounds so weird, like they're all hormones and menstruation.

lol at 'baby lady' though.

Kurri, may I ask where you are? They're really interesting terms.

I call my dog "little man"

My grandmother calls DD 'little woman' when she's on the phone to me. As in she'll say "and how's the little woman?" If it's relevant she's Irish and I've never thought of it as being anything more than a term of endearment.

SoontoBeMrsB - I live in Norfolk now, and I grew up in Dorset. I think little maid may be dying out now -but I was commonly called that by older folk when I was little (I am 55 now).

My woman and my man are still frequently used in Norfolk, in fact I heard a lady use it on the bus today to her little grand daughter - pointed to a seat and said 'sit you down there my woman' - it is lovely.

I think 'little lady' has alliteration going for it, over 'little woman'. As does 'wee woman' over 'wee lady'. So I wouldn't read too much into that choice.

Kurri, that was me, not MrsB, but thank you. So little maid is a Dorset thing? I really like it.

I like the sound of 'my woman' too. It's all about context really, isn't it? The way you describe it it just sounds warm and nice.

Oh apologies Onlylovers yes it is warm and nice, and affectionate