'The Woman'

mum2be

OMG! Anybody hear MJ Tierney on the Sunday Game call his wife, girlfriend, whatever 'The Woman'. Sorry, but for a second I thought it was the 1950s and I wondered why I wasn't in the kitchen slaving away over tomorrows dinner for 'The Husband'. Didn't realise people actually spoke like this still. :eek:

krudler

I used to refer to my ex as "the missus" in a lighthearted way and you see people on here say "the boyfriend/the hubby/my man" a lot, I doubt it was meant as a sexist remark

Raze_them_all

Ah here if you take offence to that you take offence way to easily.

MagicMarker

Is she not a woman?

Agent Smith

mum2be wrote: »

OMG! Anybody hear MJ Tierney on the Sunday Game call his wife, girlfriend, whatever 'The Woman'. Sorry, but for a second I thought it was the 1950s and I wondered why I wasn't in the kitchen slaving away over tomorrows dinner for 'The Husband'. Didn't realise people actually spoke like this still. :eek:

Judging by your username, you'll flip your lid when your kids call you "the mother"

Silverfish

Alright folks, that's enough. Lets leave the snide and dismissive comments out.

Ickle Magoo

Don't whatever you do head over to Scotland then! :pac:

"The trouble and strife", "she who should be obeyed", "her indoors", "quine", "the wee wifey"....lol. To be honest I think tone and intent are important, mostly those kind of names are deliberately said for comic effect with a wink and a nod, I imagine it's the same here...and for all we know it's one half of pet/affection names they have for each other.

flutered

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

Don't whatever you do head over to Scotland then! :pac:

"The trouble and strife", "she who should be obeyed", "her indoors", "quine", "the wee wifey"....lol. To be honest I think tone and intent are important, mostly those kind of names are deliberately said for comic effect with a wink and a nod, I imagine it's the same here...and for all we know it's one half of pet/affection names they have for each other.

you forgot to mention de hen

jill_valentine

Yeah, I hear girls refer to The Fella all the time. No big deal.

Ickle Magoo

flutered wrote: »

you forgot to mention de hen

Well, hen would be used to her directly as opposed to a descriptive for someone else. :P

starlit

mum2be wrote: »

OMG! Anybody hear MJ Tierney on the Sunday Game call his wife, girlfriend, whatever 'The Woman'. Sorry, but for a second I thought it was the 1950s and I wondered why I wasn't in the kitchen slaving away over tomorrows dinner for 'The Husband'. Didn't realise people actually spoke like this still. :eek:

Fek he married or has a gf!...he is a cutie pie!:o

Eve_Dublin

No doubt he said it in a tongue-in-cheek way...I wouldn't be offended if Me Fella (as I call him even though he's Spanish..he thinks it's funny) called me that. I don't say it seriously and I don't mean any harm by it. If you know the man loves you and he's generally respectful, then you know it's wasn't said desparagingly.

LittleBook

Maybe it's just me but I kinda like the idea of being called "The Woman" with a capital T and a capital W.

lilmissprincess

Wouldn't take offence to it at all - I know I've been referred to as "Herself", "The Missus" etc, and in turn, I've referred to guys as "Himself" and a number of other names.. nothing sexist about it at all!

tallaghtmick

My Dad was on the phone a while back and reffered to my ma as "the wife" I cracked up,well he is nearly 70 so its not too bad.

pickarooney

Eve_Dublin wrote: »

No doubt he said it in a tongue-in-cheek way...I wouldn't be offended if Me Fella (as I call him even though he's Spanish..he thinks it's funny) called me that. I don't say it seriously and I don't mean any harm by it. If you know the man loves you and he's generally respectful, then you know it's wasn't said desparagingly.

Blow me if a Spanish guy I knew wasn't in stitches on hearing that expression for the first time.

The_Minister

pickarooney wrote: »

Blow me if a Spanish guy I knew wasn't in stitches on hearing that expression for the first time.

Has that chat-up line ever worked?

flutered

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

Well, hen would be used to her directly as opposed to a descriptive for someone else. :P

as in my hen ie the hen has the dinner on etc.

Malari

flutered wrote: »

as in my hen ie the hen has the dinner on etc.

I would have thought more like the use of 'pet' or 'honey'. You don't really use them in the third person, only directly to the person you call 'hen'?

Anyway, I'm not really keen on being called 'the missus' or any derivative thereof, so I don't use 'my fella' etc either.

LeeHoffmann

Agree with all the other posters. Pretty sure it's just said jokingly etc. Nothing to get upset about imo

Ickle Magoo

flutered wrote: »

as in my hen ie the hen has the dinner on etc.

Never, ever heard it used like that - women call other women "hen" in certain parts of scotland as in "aw'right hen" when you enter a shop or summat - it's such a generic impersonal term used by both genders. Prior to you posting it, I'd never, ever heard the expression "the hen" or "de hen" or "my hen"...sorry.

x Purple Pawprints x

lilmissprincess wrote: »

Wouldn't take offence to it at all - I know I've been referred to as "Herself", "The Missus" etc, and in turn, I've referred to guys as "Himself" and a number of other names.. nothing sexist about it at all!

Tbh I wouldn't really mind being called "The Woman" if I knew that it wasn't in a sexist way. Bf calls me "woman" in a jokey way sometimes.. To which I always reply "don't 'woman' me, you.." It's just a playful thing. :rolleyes:

I've heard his friend refer to me as my bf's missus which I secretly think is a little bit cute. Simliar to lilmissprincess, if I'm talking about him I call him "the boy" or "himself" but if I'm talking to him I call him "babe" or "baby" and he calls me the same. He called me "love" for the first time the other day. I just smiled but I was going "eeeeeeeeek " inside, lol. :rolleyes:

cdaly_

Jane_LS_88 wrote: »

I've heard his friend refer to me as my bf's missus which I secretly think is a little bit cute. Simliar to lilmissprincess, if I'm talking about him I call him "the boy" or "himself" but if I'm talking to him I call him "babe" or "baby" and he calls me the same. He called me "love" for the first time the other day. I just smiled but I was going "eeeeeeeeek " inside, lol. :rolleyes:

Aawwww!...

mum2be

OP here, I know my tone in my original post was sarcastic but I genuinely find terms like that derogatory and a throwback to a time when women were treated as objects rather than people.
We all have terms of endearment and pet names that we use with one another and are probably used in an affectionate or jokey way, that's fine.
But whenever I hear men use such a term, (I've never heard a woman speak about her husband/boyfriend like that), I think it comes across as being sexist and disrespectful to the person that they were referring to, and while it's absolutely fine if that person doesn't have a problem with it, I would.

krudler

mum2be wrote: »

OP here, I know my tone in my original post was sarcastic but I genuinely find terms like that derogatory and a throwback to a time when women were treated as objects rather than people.
We all have terms of endearment and pet names that we use with one another and are probably used in an affectionate or jokey way, that's fine.
But whenever I hear men use such a term, (I've never heard a woman speak about her husband/boyfriend like that), I think it comes across as being sexist and disrespectful to the person that they were referring to, and while it's absolutely fine if that person doesn't have a problem with it, I would.

aside from the examples listed above you mean? how do you know he didnt mean it in a jokey affectionate way? could be a private joke for all we know

parker kent

mum2be wrote: »

I've never heard a woman speak about her husband/boyfriend like that

How have you never heard any woman say something similar? It is really, really common.

shinikins

mum2be wrote: »

But whenever I hear men use such a term, (I've never heard a woman speak about her husband/boyfriend like that), I think it comes across as being sexist and disrespectful to the person that they were referring to, and while it's absolutely fine if that person doesn't have a problem with it, I would.

Why is it so different when a man uses a term like that? I call my BF "the man with the wallet" it doesn't mean I expect him to pay for me, in fact I am adamant and always have been about paying my way equally, so it really has no true meaning. I sometimes also say "him indoors", again, no real meaning to it. I don't mind saying these things in front of strangers, say at the supermarket, I'm sure they don't think I'm a kept woman, especially as its usually me who pays for the groceries, and he who packs the bags. He's just as likely to tell his friends that I'm busy cooking his dinner, even though he does just as much in the kitchen(he's in there now as I type). Its all affectionate joking, and certainly not disrespectful. It would be hugely disrespectful to have a complete stranger say these things though. I was out to lunch yesterday and the waitress(yes, female!!) kept calling me "lovey" which I found highly irritating, I would never assume it was appropriate to be so familiar with someone I didn't know!

Princess Peach

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

Never, ever heard it used like that - women call other women "hen" in certain parts of scotland as in "aw'right hen" when you enter a shop or summat - it's such a generic impersonal term used by both genders. Prior to you posting it, I'd never, ever heard the expression "the hen" or "de hen" or "my hen"...sorry.

My Dad calls my mam Mother Hen!

I call my boyfriend my man. Same thing really. Lots of posters here refer to their boyfriends as the boy.

Just a term, no harm done.

dammitjanet

Himself calls me the missus, the mot, she who must be obayed etc. None bother me, I find them cute. And it's not like I don't respond in kind.
In fact my OH used to work with loads of very tough teenage lads and they used to call me "[OH's name]'s missus." I used to get it shouted down the town at me if they ever saw me out embarrasing but very sweet.

Ickle Magoo

Princess Peach wrote: »

My Dad calls my mam Mother Hen!

That's really cute! Mind you, Mother hen & the derivatives from that noun have a specific dictionary definition - it still isn't a [scottish] colloquialism...which was the claim I was refuting.

Valentina

My dad always called my mum The Boss. If I wanted to do something that I knew my mum would say no to, I'd ask my dad and he'd always say "Did you ask The Boss?"

I now refer to myself as The Boss between me and my b/f. :P

I wouldn't be bothered if my b/f referred to me as "the woman." I am a woman after all. (Jeez that makes me feel old.) As long as it wasn't meant in a derogatory way, I don't see any harm in it. One of the pet names I have for my b/f is Stinky so if anyone should be getting upset it's him!

Lady Chuckles

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

Don't whatever you do head over to Scotland then! :pac:

"The trouble and strife", "she who should be obeyed", "her indoors", "quine", "the wee wifey"....lol. To be honest I think tone and intent are important, mostly those kind of names are deliberately said for comic effect with a wink and a nod, I imagine it's the same here...and for all we know it's one half of pet/affection names they have for each other.

I would LOVE to be somebody's "wee wifey"
It's probably the cutest thing I've ever heard

ash23

I used to refer to my ex as "himself". Dunno what he called me. Nothing good I'd imagine! :rolleyes:

LeeHoffmann

One of the pet names I have for my b/f is Stinky so if anyone should be getting upset it's him!

Stinky and the Boss :pac:

Acoshla

God we call each other all sorts! I call him the boy, My *Paul, the wife, himself, or because I live in his house I call him my landlord sometimes if it's a house related issue He calls me the wife, the boss, his little princess (when he wants to annoy me or I hurt myself!), absolutely anything goes because it's all meant in a jokey way. A few days ago my 9 months pregnant friend was making dinner for her boyfriend, I said to him wasn't that great service, the pregnant missus making his dinner for him, he said "Yep she knows her place alright", she didn't bat an eye at this banter, the whole point is that it was so sexist it was funny!

um7y1h83ge06nx

I call the gf sometimes "the little lady" (she's quite petite). I also call her the nickname my brother and myself have for my mother - "small but mighty"

Usually if she is pretending to chastise me I get called "Séamus" (James is my English name and how people usually refer to me as) or sometimes just "Dude"!