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AIBU?

To be called some ones wife after introducing slef

23 replies

Whatdidyoudo99 · 23/04/2021 19:49

Is it rude to be called someone’s wife after you have introduced your self

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Am I being unreasonable?

AIBU

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Paul72 · 23/04/2021 19:53

My wife would hate to be called Paul's wife. She is Ann and that is her name. I don't own her or control her. She is her own person.

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Hopdathelf · 23/04/2021 19:53

Depends. Need much more information.

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SonnyWinds · 23/04/2021 19:56

This completely depends.
Say you're a couple called Jack and Jill. You're at Jack's work event or with Jack's friends and Jack introduces you to someone (Ed) as Jill, I would still expect Ed to introduce you to others as Jack's wife - otherwise they won't understand why you're there.
On the other hand, Jack and Jill attend a course where neither of them know anyone and introduce themselves to another person (Ed). Ed's wife arrives and introduces you to her as Jack and Jack's wife. Kinda rude but I'd assume he's forgotten your name to be honest.
Essentially if it's someone who knows your husband better than they know you is introducing you to someone who knows your husband then I'd expect that they refer to you as the wife of your husband - it sets the social context.

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UndeadSlut · 23/04/2021 19:58

So, you've introduced yourself like "Hi nice to meet you I'm Jessica" and then someone else has said "Oh Andrea come over here and meet Geoff's wife"? I don't know if that would annoy me tbh. Probably not in that context, it's something I'd do if I wasn't sure I had heard the name correctly.

It WOULD annoy me if I had met this person multiple times and they still referred to me as "Geoff's wife".

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emilyfrost · 23/04/2021 19:59

No. I don’t seen an issue with it Confused

I am [DH’s name]’s wife and proud to be so.

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KrisAkabusi · 23/04/2021 19:59

"Hi, I'm Jill."
"Oh, you're Jack's wife, hi!"

Nothing wrong with that.

It was it phrased differently? We need more information.

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Whatdidyoudo99 · 23/04/2021 20:00

We meet our new neighbour, she was moaning about another neighbour. Anyway I made a point of saying hello we have not meet I am Lisa....
Then she continue to talk to my husband and would would refer to me as John’s wife. Just found it abit rude and the more she done it the more it annoyed me

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Shinyletsbebadguys · 23/04/2021 20:02

I agree with pp context is very relevant. For example of you introduced yourself once in a party or something and then much later (weeks months etc) its forgivable if the response is something like " Oh jacks wife? " because they can't remember your name.

I mean if its your MIL whole different ballgame.

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Shinyletsbebadguys · 23/04/2021 20:03

Ahh cross post sorry. Is it possible she just has a bad memory ? Seriously we discovered three of the school mums (me included) have completely forgotten each others actual names and felt it had become far too rude to ask again so we had all referred to each other as " So and Sos mum" until it came out .

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WhySoSensitive · 23/04/2021 20:03

If it annoyed you then every time she said ‘John’s wife’ and you say ‘it’s Lisa’. This is one of those very simple things to rectify.

FWIW - wouldn’t bother me at all!

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M0rT · 23/04/2021 20:06

That is rude, she doesn't know either of ye well but made a point of remembering your husband's name and using it to refer to you as well?
I'd be unimpressed.

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Hopdathelf · 23/04/2021 20:08

I still don’t quite understand how, in a conversation with you, she was referring to you as “John’s wife”

Was there a third party there?

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StillRailing · 23/04/2021 20:11

Oh I thought this would be a spouse's work colleague which I could understand.

I can see why with a neighbour it might be annoying.

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Hidinginstaircupboard · 24/04/2021 08:22

Maybe she forgot your name and is too embarrassed to say. Just correct her,
Neighbour: "this is Johns wife"
You: "... otherwise known as Lisa.."
(And repeat...)

If she or he really annoys you by continuing even after corrected quite a few times, then start introducing them as "..Lisa's neighbour.." Grin

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Thatisnotwhatisaid · 24/04/2021 08:53

Totally depends. If it’s said in a friendly way like ‘this is Philomena, she’s married to Phil’ and you’re at a party filled with people who primarily know Phil then it isn’t rude. If you aren’t even introduced as Philomena, just Phil’s wife then yeah it’s rude.

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Onairjunkie · 24/04/2021 09:26

A friend/acquaintance of my H does this. I have met him around a dozen times and he doesn’t bother to commit my name to memory, instead referring to me as ‘H’s wife’. Even addressing me as such, which I asked him to stop doing.

He’s one of those hugely wealthy, Big-I-Ams who sees women as lesser. He has a lovely wife, I don’t understand it.

I’m successful in my own right, maybe that’s why he’s so rude. Or maybe he’s just a narcissistic twat.

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steff13 · 24/04/2021 09:30

@Hopdathelf

I still don’t quite understand how, in a conversation with you, she was referring to you as “John’s wife”

Was there a third party there?

I have this question as well. Was she talking to you saying, "well, John's wife...?"
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KarmaStar · 24/04/2021 09:30

Yanbu she is trying to put you down.

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Fatladyslim · 24/04/2021 09:49

Can you give us a bit of a play by playbofnthe conversation? Did she say it to you like it was your name? Like 'hi John's wife!'?

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Sandgrown1970 · 24/04/2021 09:59

I don’t think it’s rude.

I remember being at a school concert and someone referred to

“LittleSandgrown’sMum”

“ERRRRRRRMMMMMMM EXCUSE ME!!!! This lady is NOT LittleSandgrownsMUM. She has a NAME and it’s MARY. How are you this evening, MARY?”

I thought she was really rude and the kind of person who took glee in pointing out other people’s errors. She embarrassed not only the lovely woman I was talking to, but me and made my child feel awkward. Plus I AM LittleSandgrown’s Mum. No one needed the daft woman to jump to my defence, I wasn’t offended and it was more likely to do with her chip on her shoulder. It created an unpleasant atmosphere at an otherwise lovely event. She later said she couldn’t STAND it when other women let women down by reducing them to the title of “Mum” Hmm.

Well guess what? I’m a proud mum. I’m a proud wife. I’m happy to have both titles. Also it’s not necessarily a sexist thing. My husband is just as often (maybe more often in my friendship circles) described as “Sandgrown’s husband”. There’s nothing worth getting riled up about.

But rather than get upset and start a thread about it, why not just say “it’s Lisa” or “please call me Lisa” when she said “John’s wife”?

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paralysedbyinertia · 24/04/2021 10:06

@emilyfrost

No. I don’t seen an issue with it Confused

I am [DH’s name]’s wife and proud to be so.

Why would you be "proud" of being married to someone? Happy, yes, but "proud"? It isn't really an achievement, is it?
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Yogatomorrow · 24/04/2021 10:07

In the situation you have described- yes it is rude. And it would annoy me.

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knittingaddict · 24/04/2021 10:19

@Hopdathelf

I still don’t quite understand how, in a conversation with you, she was referring to you as “John’s wife”

Was there a third party there?

I don't understand this either. It sounds like you were there to hear yourself being referred to as "John's wife". In what context was this said? She obviously didn't literally say *hello John's wife". Could you quote a sentence please?
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