To think calling a 26 year old a girl is odd

[Togetherforever70]

They aren’t even a young adult never a girl.

I 'go out with the girls' all of whom are over 30 and one is over 80.

I work in a shop and customers regularly say 'I'll just ask the girl' or 'go to that girl'

I don't even think about it.

Yes, in many contexts they would. 'Going out with the boys tonight'. 'Him and the boys are sorting out the stag do' 'I'll get one of the boys to sort that' etc.
I'd say blokes or men myself, guess just language differences then. What would you say for an individual 26 year old man?

Not nice.

Unless you're referring to your group of friends/relatives etc eg the girls or to someone's daughter eg Maurine's girl then it's feels very derisive.

You don't refer to someone respectfully as 'a girl'.

I refer to my group of friends as 'the girls'.

See also people on MN losing their shit when you refer to children as 'the kids'.

It can be regional, Im in Scotland, I'm 49 and anyone over 60 calls me lassie, hen, pet 🤣 I'm glad I look young to someone.
In a professional setting though it's hardly appropriate.

Very common where I’m from, women are girls, men are boys.

Absolutely doesn't bother me, round here people always refer to groups of males and females as boys/girls eg girls trip etc. It's never used in a degoratory way. We are 40s-50s.

My mum was talking about a "young lad" today. Turns out he is 50!

I work on the basis of if no offence was meant, then I don't take any.

As others have said, it depends on the context.

While some people may find this offensive, I don't quite get it. Nothing wrong with being a girl. But it does depend on context.

And here, yes, similar language is used for men.

My mum calls anyone under the age of 50 a little boy/girl.. her doctor, a firefighter, the nice young boy that drives her home from town (taxi driver) me, my DH (hes 50 but he’s still her boy) yes she calls him her boy, even though she’s MY mum 😂

I've always 'gone out with the girls'. It just means female to me.

I’m twice that age and often get called a girl! It’s bonkers!

I wouldn't bat an eyelid at 26 as it's relatively young. But my mum will call people in their 70s girls. Drives me nuts but I just silently seeth.

I have no problem with it and as far, as I know neither does anyone I work with or my friends. Only on mumsnet

DH is 58, and goes out with the 'boys' to the pub. It's colloquial, not disrespectful - if I go for a drink with the 'girls' it's highly likely that none of us are under 50, and very unlikely that any of us would be offended. Each to their own.

If I'm meeting a group of female friends I would say I'm going out with the girls. I'm 60 and most of "the girls" are of a similar age.
Others might view us as a bunch of old biddies
Bovvered? Not one bit !!🤣🤣

I don't like it to be honest, always cringe when I hear adult women saying they're "going out with the girls" and the like. But I suppose it's fine if the people in question don't mind.

I get called a girl quite frequently, and am about to turn 29. I do look younger though, easily pass for 23/24

Totally context dependant. I don’t mind “going out with the girls”, it does annoy me if someone says “oh one of the girls in your team told me”. This happens quite often, nobody ever ever says to get they spoke to a boy in my team.

I had an email addressed to me and another manager saying Hi girls. As I was more senior than the sender it seemed a bit too informal in a work setting (and I did let him know).

But it depends on context in social terms it's fine but I wouldn't expect to be referred to as a girl more formally. Then again I am in my 50's!

Anyone younger than me is a lad/girl and anyone older is a woman/bloke. I didn’t really notice I thought of it like that to be honest. Maybe a regional thing too.

I got called a girl the other day and I rather liked it, at mid 30s. By an older woman. It was nice and I felt young. Plus I am one.

We were talking about this in the office the other week. A few of the younger woman took office to a senior male calling them ‘the girls’. I said it wouldn’t bother me at all but can understand why some people wouldn’t offended. My manager (the most senior person) said he would never refer to anyone in the office as a girl / the girls, but often asks his wife if she’s ‘meeting with the girls’ as in her female friends. So I suppose that makes me think of it being more of who says it and where.

@Svara

I find it strange over 21, between 18 and 21 I'm likely to use either girl or woman. Would people call a 26 year old man a boy?

my godson is over 30 and his brother is older. I still refer to them to their mum as ""the boys" because she does.