Grown women calling each other baby/babe?

[username108]

AIBU to find this really odd? Grown women in their 20s/30s calling each other baby and babe? As in 'thanks so much baby'.

YaNbu

YANBU. My former colleagues used to refer to each other as "babe" constantly. I found it immensely irritating. Glad I don't work there anymore.

I can't bring myself to care tbh

I absolutely cannot stand being called 'babe' or 'baby' by anyone. I had a colleague who called everyone including me 'babe' and it really annoyed me, but I was her line manager so couldn't find a way to object without it sounding like an obnoxious rank-pulling thing.

It's just another term of endearment like darling or honey

@NiceGerbil

I can't bring myself to care tbh

Agree. And a touch of snobbery chucked in there too.

See also: hun.

It isn't something I do or grew up doing so I personally don't say it but i can't say I overly care when people other women do it (I think it often seems quite friendly tbh) or feel the need to posture or make it mean more than it does. I do think a lot of these objections often boil down to insidious snobbery and classism.

I can't get excited about it.
Call me what you like.

I don't like it and don't use it........ always makes me think of the film Babe about the pig.

I call my close female friends babe, lovely, and gal as term's of endearment, I don't see anything wrong with it tbh.

My oldest friend calls me babe, I love it. You're not unreasonable not to like it. Shocking concept: people can like different things!

I don't think it's snobbish to dislike a term of endearment based on likening you to a human in a life stage of being helpless, totally dependent and unable to communicate. It's a belittling term. I'm as working class as they come. People shouldn't have to accept terms of endearment with which they are uncomfortable to avoid being called a 'snob' by others.

I think you'd be reasonable to care what others call YOU.

But what they call each other? Care less.

I call my oldest friends darling/love/honey, it’s no different to that. I call my husband babe so I don’t use it for my friends, that’s all. As long as no one is calling you a name you don’t like does it actually matter???

I like it. It’s a term of endearment and does you no harm whatsoever.

I call everyone babe or babes. Sometimes love.
I call dp a myriad of affectionate insults however

I have two friends that call me babe, one male one female. I don't mind it with either of them. I can't see why it would bother anyone unless you don't like it being said to you.

I’ve always hated it, I hate all twee pet names.