Question

[fe_maleblog]

Why is it more common for females to refer to themselves as girls, or going out with the girls no matter what age they are, and it's less common for men? Men don't say me and the boys. Men don't call themselves boys.

Comments

[akeyoftime]

There is the Old Boys Network, but that's really the only exception I can think of. And as it's a network of powerful men... It's really a bit of an insult to call a man a boy.

I'm not really sure if it's something that came about deliberately or if it was an off-shoot of the pre-existing sexism.

[martinemonster]

I'm not rightly sure. Perhaps I'm paranoid, but could it be for the same reason that women of power are referred to by first name, while men of power are referred to by their last name? One example: the debate between Hilary and Obama.

It seems to me that women calling themselves girls first of all makes them seem less old, and old women are unattractive. Secondly, it makes them less responsible. A "girl" would not have to be as responsible for herself as a "woman" because she signifies that she is not "grown up" by calling herself a "girl".

It could be I'm ranting and raving and reading too much into the use of the word, but from a discourse analysis perspective, the choice of using a word that is traditionally used for describing female children to women of all ages is a good indicator of a belief that women are less responsible for themselves and to a certain degree less expected to take care of themselves (they need people to open doors for them, to buy stuff for them and so forth and so on).

[elfdragonlord]

I'd rather be called a boy than a man.

But then I'm androgynous inside.