To dislike being called "ladies"

[Disco2022]

It seems to happen on here more recently and there's something about it which just grates on me! It makes me want to swear and announce "I'm no lady,"
It also reminds me a bit of David Dickinson when he used to say "Ladies, may I call you girls" in that sickening sleazy way.
Much prefer just being called a woman.
Anyway fairly light-hearted just a late night ponder.

I really dislike it too, but you can't really say come on women, or listen, women.

I actually find David a true old school gentleman and think you are being unreasonable, I have voted accordingly.

What would you like to be called?

To me lady is the same as woman. I know what you mean about it being slightly condescending but in terms of frothing about the lot of women, I’ve got bigger fish to fry than that!!

Doesn't bother me at all.
In fact, I would use 'ladies' myself.

But we are all different, so that doesn't make you unreasonable to dislike it, so a bit tricky to vote.

I know 'ladies' is sometimes considered out-moded now but I do kinda like it; I like how the word sounds and find it much preferable to 'females,' which is also being used by some misogynists to describe women.

I don't dislike it but do find it sort of old fashioned now. I think it's maybe a generational thing.Was called misses a few months ago, by a delivery driver!!

I prefer people or folk. Ladies just seems like its dripping in judgement about how you’re supposed to behave . Why do we have to be referred to by gender? It’s weird

I like folks, people, guys (I know that one is controversial).

Sidebar; this thread prompted me to Google David Dickinson and I was so surprised to see he's still alive. For some reason I had it in my head that he died a few years ago.

I hate it .
An example for me is the class WhatsApp group ( all on mute - then deleted .. but that’s a whole different thread) , whereby a person will ask a question and the response will be “‘thanks ladies”.
Fuck off.

I have really thought about it ( that’s how much it pisses me off ) and about what I would prefer the response to be and I’m a bit stumped - as ridiculous as it sounds .
‘ guys/ chicks / girlies ‘ Nope, not for me.

So fuck knows but yeah, agree with you wholeheartedly OP.

I see nothing wrong with the term "Ladies." Better than "girls" which is infantilising and strips women of their adult status and agency. Women in prison are often addressed as girls as a form of disempowerment. Gender neutral alternatives - everyone, folks, people, team etc are better for mixed or informal gatherings.

I wonder if this is partly aimed at me?

Anyway, I used to write "girls" when I was younger, but I'm 43 now.

You can like it or not as you prefer, but other people have differernt feelings about it, and there really isn't any use trying to control what other people say.

I'd also say that it seems to me that it is a waste of time and energy to be bothered about others using an innocuous word with no nefarious or underhanded connotations.

It's the same idea as "gentlemen." I suppose some males may feel they are "men (grunt, grunt) not gentlemen, but I don't think I've ever heard any complain about it.

What are people supposed to say? Girls? Ladies? Women? Pretty much every term offends somebody for some reason.

I don't like it on here, because you have no idea who's posting - it's like addressing everyone with "Hi Mums 👋" .

Agree

I agree, there's no need to refer to my sex at all in any situation it is used and it always sounds a bit bleurgh to me.

Hi ladies, would you like to order?

Hi there, would you like to order?

I have a what I believed was an irrational dislike of the group “Hi ladies/Thanks ladies”, I’m glad to see it’s not just me. I always put “Hi all/Thanks all” on group chats - maybe other people think that sounds strange, but I definitely prefer it!

I haven’t liked it for ages but unsure what the alternative could be. I wouldn’t never go up to a group of men and say, hey men.

Maybe ‘hey guys’ but I also am not fully on board with that either. I guess I’m hard to please!

I’ve gone the whole other way - I’m in a WhatsApp group chat, all of us are women…..and it makes me cringe when someone starts a message relevant to everyone with “Ladies”……so if I need to address everyone I now start my message with “Alright lads?” 🤷🏻‍♀️🫠🫠😂

Doesn’t bother me in the least.

Absolutely. It’s a more formal term for addressing a group of women or for a woman who’s a stranger whose name you don’t know. It definitely has a function.

I wasn’t going to say to my children “Just move out of the way for the woman” or similar.

i think people should chill about things like this. I’m a very firm feminist but am happy to hear groups addressed as ladies and gentlemen - they’re both just a formal device and have their place.

Totally different when sleazy Russell Brand types talk about “the laydeez “.

So is the use of it in your username ironic?

When I was young calling someone a woman was considered disrespectful. It implied she was too loose or common to be called a lady. That was in the 70s. Times change. I used to think girl was insulting but don't now. Female is probably the worst one now because that seems to be what the misogynists use a lot.

But if it’s a female only group, there are no ‘lads’.