To be disappointed by female doctors describing groups of nurses and other allied health professionals as 'the girls '?

[Heartsanddiamonds01]

I regularly hear this from both male and female doctors and although it pisses me off whoever is using this innately derogatory term, it especially grinds and disappoints when it's another women. There is nothing wrong with being called a girl if thats what you are but we are talking about adult women here! I'd never describe a group of professional adult women as such so why do they find it acceptable?

Really can't get worked up about this sort of stuff. I often refer to the group of men I work with as 'the boys'. Maybe it's more common in some places than others?

iciclewinter "If "women" is seen as a less friendly term than "girls" then why is this?"

Good question icicle although any answers we give might be too feminist for AIBU to cope with

Have you always been that patronising OP, or is it something you're working hard on tonight?

If the people who are answering the thread you chose to post in AIBU aren't feminist enough for you, perhaps you should ask MNHQ to move it to the FWR topic?

God forbid the women here should have opinions that don't match your own.

Yep, it clearly means the women here can't cope

I'm not worked up, stressed or pissy and I would never dream of saying anything about it tbh. In fact I suspect a collective noun came to mind because he couldn't remember our names as he'd only just started there. But I'm allowed to wish he'd not said it and to find it faintly patronising in my own head.

I agree with the OP, I would dislike it more from a female.

It's patronising as fuck and sexist too for a doctor to refer to the nurses as girls, and also clearly reinforces a hierarchical model of working, instead of the modern way which is meant to be a multi-disciplinary team approach. So it's both inappropriate and unprofessional.

The term girls is friendly and familiar like pp have pointed out other women know they are professional women but are using girls in a friendly way

I don't like it particularly, but then I also tend to refer to large groups are 'guys' which I know some people don't like (sadly they often are, er, guys).

As for girls: if the girls in the office fancy a night out that's one thing (likely the boys / lads will want one too - it's all about going back to a time before responsibility I think), but I wouldn't ever refer to a set of junior staff as 'girls' (I'd say 'the team' or something)..

I am a reasonably senior person and was referred to as 'Little buggers' the other day which made me feel about 5. (Suffice to say I did respond).

Why should "women" be considered any less friendly MrsJayy? Is it really necessary for women be addressed as something they are not to make things more friendly? Aren't adult females capable of friendliness?

"Less friendly" meaning "more formal" perhaps?

I've never heard of a group of women being addressed/referred to as women and clamouring to be called girls.

Funny that.

I live in Australia, the land of the patronising "girls". Fucking annoying.

Yanbu. It is a subtle but patronising way of enforcing a hierarchy against female staff - make sure they know their place. Yes they are bigger problems but that doesn't stop this being unhelpful

YANBU. Last time I was in hospital, I was on a ward consisting mainly of men. The women patients were in a corner of the ward and yes we had to share showers and toilets with the men. We were always collectively referred to as 'ladies' or 'girls', sometimes both, because I was the youngest there. I felt it was patronising. I couldn't wait to get home.

I also noticed we got our night time medication last, all the time, without exception. I asked about this and was told it was because the men would get angry if they didn't get their meds first and the staff didn't want to deal with it.

It's a demeaning phrase and should never be used within a professional setting, and that includes all careers. I would hate if I any of my grand children were put in a nursery were all the staff referred to themselves as 'girls'.

I wonder how quickly the nursing staff would be pulled up if they called females surgeons as 'girls'.

Rather more readily than if it was surgeons and doctors were referring to femake nursing staff as girls.

Referring to a professional colleague as a 'girl' implies that you do not see them as an equal.

Somebody said that "the women" sounded cold or something. But the alternative isn't "the women" it's "the nurses" or " the doctors" or "the midwives" or "my colleagues". There is no need whatsoever to refer to any woman in the workplace by a gender- specific label. OP YANBU.

Sorry, I meant to type "the alternative IS "the nurses"" etc....

Aargh God ignore correction I didn't make a mistake at all, just misread my own post...

I think the only collective noun you need to use is 'everybody/one'. Colleagues is good too.

Im a medical student and one of the consultants who teaches us this term refers to us as 'children' - as in 'How are we today, children?' or 'Are the children being good?' directed at junior doctors who've been supervising us. I find it utterly infuriating and have been very very close to informing him that I am an adult woman with a child of my own, not to mention a husband, a mortgage and two previous degrees, and I don't appreciate it. But I probably won't because I'm scaredy...

He is, incidentally, also the only doctor I've heard referring to women (both nurses and junior doctors) as girls. He is a twat.

one of the consultants who teaches us this term refers to us as 'children'

I can understand you don't want to say anything directly to him, but is it possible to complain to someone in your university or organisation who could have a word with him?

When I was on the maternity ward, I'd always here 'the girls Are Doing the dinner round' 'the girls Are Doing the medicine round just now' 'the girls are wondering if you want extra paracetamol' although whenever I've been on a same sex ward, i never heard 'the men are just coming round'

I don't think female Charge Nurses should be referred to as 'Sister'. This is sexist, and whilst male dominated job titles have all had gender-neutral terms for the last 20 to 30 years, women continue to refer to themselves with words that propagate sexism.

That's a good point Pseudonym. What is the title given to male nurses in the same position?

OP

Can you give an example of what you mean?

I can think of contexts where it would not be appropriate, but I can think of others where i wouldn't mind

Oops

Just saw your example

That strikes me as dyed-in-the-wool patronising. Not intend as such, probably, but reflecting an underlying attitude.

Well, girls nights out, boys nights out are common.

We used to refer to colleagues as girls and boys and I would often call my department members "Oh, my children" (said in that truly patronising woolly tone) when imparting the latest jolly good wheeze the government or SMT had come up with - FE college lecturers and we all found it funny for some reason. But only when used between ourselves. We would always use names with students, parents and other departments.

I am old fashioned fem and, whilst it does jangle a bit, I can't get to fussed. Then again, I don't think I hear it said by professionals or in a demeaning manner.

Maybe it isn't institutional, maybe it is just some people you work with!