To wonder why some people call male babies "little man" but don't call female babies "little woman"?

[TheHouseOnTheLane]

I've seen a few people on here who don't like the term "Little Man" and I'm one of them.

I couldn't articulate why until just now...when I realised it's because nobody calls female babies "little woman"...they might say "Little Lady" but they don't want to call a baby girl a woman because they like infantalising females....and it's not "flattering" or something for a girl baby to be called a woman whereas a male baby can't be "manly" soon enough because being a man is always a positive thing....am I right?

Isn't 'the little woman' a dodgy 70s term for a wife? So, in my eyes at least, a bit more patronising...

Why do so many parents call their little girls "princess" but not their boys "prince"? Is it because their boys are inherently less valuable?

Or is it just something stupid that people do?

I call random young males and my kids male friends son. It's just a regional thing for me, i don't live in my region though, so the locals possibly find it strange.

I think the difference is that 'little woman' has sexist undertones. It's a term that's often used patronisingly to describe a woman who isn't equal to the man in the relationship.

Son or possibly Jim for males and Hen for females.

your overthinking it, its a nick name they call their baby... as for the thoughts on the difference between lady and woman - what a lot of bollocks...

barbarian I used to call ds prince but never called ds princess. Again prince is another banned term by order of ds. I think he may have taken me call him prince to heart. He loves to make decrees

I call Female babies Little Lady/Ladies. Little Woman sounds a bit strange.

But little woman is a bit like "her indoors" isn't it? Wasn't it used to describe women who stayed home and did everything for their husbands and had no freedom/independence out of the home?

I keep referring to bump as my little prince in an Essex accent ala Gavin and Stacy. I'll have to try and stop that before it's born

Where I live the locals call you 'my woman'. I quite like it, for men, surprisingly enough it is 'my man'

Boys are not 'just smaller men' Where are the deep voices, the body hair etc.?

OP, YANBU and I think you are right. Being 'a man' is a positively connotated thing, hence the use of the (cringeworthy IMO) endearment for babies. Being 'a woman' is laden with fraughtness and baggage. Just thinking of a recent thread about starting periods where many posters said they'd been told they were women now (often going hand in hand with the idea of manstruation as something either embarrassing or traumatic). I think there's something about expectations of boys in the term too.

Think it would be quite bizarre and not have the same ring if people started saying 'awww look at my little gentleman!'

Or

'How's little gentleman doing?'

I think that would be even less palatable then little man!

My grandad used to refer to me as wee dame when i was a baby

meh YABU. From Scotland, we have wee man and wee wifie bums. Just affectionate names.

Another thought - I've had to make an effort not to tell my dc off for being rude when they refer to a female person in whatever context as a woman (as in such statements as 'Mama, look at that woman over there, she has a nice dog'). Somehow I've been conditioned to expect children to use 'lady'. Do we at some level find the term 'woman' somehow dishonouring?

I haven't thought about it before but I think it's a really interesting point OP

Hetero yes...that's a good example....fine to say "Look at that man" but people if you (or DC) say "woman*

Ah yes, forgot 'wee man".

And yes, i probably say lady more than woman, especially with the kids. I guess it's just seen as politer, softer. I do sometimes say gentleman though as well.

I call my DD 'little wife' - I know it sounds a bit off written down, but in our local dialect 'wife' and 'woman' are interchangeable.

Eh, I call my DD 'little woman'. I like how it sounds. I'll even ask her "Ya comin', woman?"

I think "little woman" and "little man" is quite sweet, maybe because i just loved the books so much . I do recognise that it can have tones of the old derogatory way it was used.

Also
barbarian
I call all my dc little prince

nieces and nephews get called prince/princess

I don't think you're overthinking it op. I agree with you. 'Man' is seen as something to aspire to, whereas woman is seen as somehow derogatory.

Actually, my DD is at the stage where she's called "Oi! Put that down!"