Is it strange for a male colleague to call you princess ?

[justaquestion2021]

Just that really. I'm not overly fussed personally. Colleague is perfectly respectful. Just wanted to throw it out there and see what people think !

Interesting discussion. I honestly don't mind and thought it was a term of endearment, rather than infantilising or sexist. But it depends on the context too. If the person calling me princess disrespected me in other ways, it would be different. But they treat me with a lot of respect at work. In fact there are other male colleagues who clearly have zero respect for me. They call me by my name or actually not even and they just use YOU or SHE.

A colleague calls me princess but there is a back story. Once he sounded like the gingerbread man from shrek so I called him gingerbread man and he started calling me princess. As he explains it’s not a massive compliment as she’s an ogre 😂🤣😂

I wouldn't like it. Work is work no place for pet names at work imo. Unless you work in a family run business maybe.

Someone I liked at work called me a daft nickname like this once. It didn’t actually bother me but it was gendered so in principle I felt I couldn’t ignore it 😂

My way to nip it in the bud was was just repeat it back to them as a question and with a slightly mocking tone and raised eyebrows. It highlighted it enough to make it awkward for him, but not so awkward our working relationship was affected. It could come under the ‘bantz’ bracket. Done. He didn’t do it again.

I'd hate it. Maybe the poster who said it depends on the work culture is correct. It would definitely be considered weird at my place of work.

I wouldn't put up with that in a work environment. It's patronising, sexist and totally unprofessional.

I can’t bear it when people of their own accord call other people versions of their names. Katherine is now Kat, Kath and Kit Kat ffs do one

Unless it's Jeff from Casualty, yes.

@Babdoc

I’m with PPs who suggest turning it round and using it back. DD, (who I raised as a badass feminist) was addressed as “Sweetheart” by a very senior colleague visiting the department. She didn’t miss a beat, and responded “Okay, darling”. He was livid, and started frothing about respect. DD stood her ground and said respect goes both ways, and would he like to discuss it with HR. He ended up apologising! V proud mum.

💪💪💪

My business partner calls me princess, but he calls everyone princess - men included - in a kind of ironic way. So that's fine. If he was doing it in a patronising way I'd tell him to fuck off.

It wouldn’t bother me. Like you op I would see it as a term of endearment and not read too much into it. My next door neighbour calls me love and sweetheart. We are friends with both him and his wife, we get on well. I don’t find it patronising or derogatory or sexist.

@BornOnTwelthNight it's one thing it happening at home by neighbours, and another at work. I wouldn't address the former, I would the latter.

Inappropriate. By using a 'pet' term - dear/sweets/petal/princess - he is asserting that he is of higher status than you.

Some of the responses on here are just ridiculous!

Is he Den Watts?

Really weird.

Wouldn't bother me, but being from Yorkshire it's normal for me to call men 'love' or 'sweetheart'. Some people read too much into things.

I had a female boss that called females princess and males pumpkin unless you had done something wrong. You instantly knew you were in trouble if she said Sweeny I need to see you.

I recently spoke to a customer services agent at Talk Talk, he kept calling me sweetheart.

Call him luv in return.

Wow that is not on. Maybe it isn't the same there but here, calling someone "princess" means they are overly sensitive, and it is said as an insult. As in the phrase "have a cup of concrete and harden the f* up, Princess"

If someone said it to me at work, especially a superior, I don't think I would even give them a chance by telling them I don't like it, I'd be straight to HR.

And yes I would reply with ‘little man’ or similar in exactly the same tone he uses until he got the hint

What's wrong with just saying 'please don't call me princess'?

He's not called Brian by any chance is he?

I work in hospitality and we talk like this. The chefs in particular greet me with ‘hello, beautiful’ and I call them variously ‘my angel’, ‘gorgeous’, ‘my darlings’.

It’s not patronising because it’s a two way street. But it’s the culture in that particular environment and I think I’d find it a bit weird from just one colleague in an otherwise formal setting.

@speakout

I recently spoke to a customer services agent at Talk Talk, he kept calling me sweetheart.

A schoolboy on the till at Waitrose addressed me as 'dear'.

The entire enterprise should die of shame. His parents should be mortified. It's quite possible that a long custodial sentence is in order.