this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2023
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Since a lot of women have started to call their female friends "girlfriends", I have to wonder how women with actual girlfriends have been dealing with this lol

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[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 74 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I'm neither a lesbian nor a woman but the word "partner" is pretty universally understood.

[–] theKalash@feddit.ch 40 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Unless they work as a policewoman.

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 7 points 11 months ago (2 children)

They could also be in business together. Or cowboys.

[–] Send_me_nude_girls@feddit.de 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Then add "...at work" in the same breath. Guys, we don't need to reinvent language.

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

How do you differentiate cowboys?

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[–] betahack@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

if cowboys i believes it's pahtnah, in the parlance of the day

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 months ago

I hear it Sam Elliot's voice "Pard-ner"

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[–] squiblet@kbin.social 8 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I use that to refer to business partners and people have been confused by it.

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[–] catsup@lemmy.one 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yeah I thought about that one too, but it feels too broad of a term. Partner could be used to refer to a work colleague. And I'd feel really tempted to add "in crime" at the end lol

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 months ago

I'm always tempted to preceed it with "howdy"

[–] awnery@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

work on a cook line in a restaurant. gain a little trust, might get a partner or several.

[–] OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 71 points 11 months ago (4 children)

"This is Jane, we're fucking."

[–] snooggums@kbin.social 33 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Right now?

I clearly don't know how being a lesbian works.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 31 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] tegs_terry@feddit.uk 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

Just don't ask where the meat comes from.

You see any cows around here?

Spanish...

Rat burger? This is a rat burger?

Pretty good!

[–] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Someone once introduced their gf literally saying "We are in a relationship" - it's sounds awkward/clunky but I didn't even notice that, it didn't make me think for a moment, its precise, short, and above all clear. I appreciate direct communication way more than 'what sounds nice'.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 2 points 11 months ago

You lika de clear communication eh?

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[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 28 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (8 children)

“This is my wife” works real well

For my girlfriend, I mostly just correct people if they’re mistaken. “Oh we’re more than just friends” type statements.

Also fuck is the platonic use of girlfriend back? Dammit

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, hate to break it to you, but it isn't even just women/girls using it for platonic friends. Men/boys are too.

Not too surprisingly, that hasn't happened with boyfriend that I've run across. Which is kinda fucked up when you consider what the difference in usage represents.

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 months ago

Personally I've only ever heard "platonic boyfriends" when it was platonic

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[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 26 points 11 months ago (1 children)

“This person is my lover Karen”

Just introduce them as your partner. Lesbians are so habitually entrenched in hiding their sexuality.

I have so many pairs of “friends” come in appliance shopping. Gay men come in, it’s “This is my husband Mike”. Gay women come in and it’s like “This is my friend Paula. She helps me pick out appliances and definitely doesn’t live with me”.

I don’t pry, because I’m just selling appliances. But it’s pretty obvious.

[–] Lennnny@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

Robert Dyas?

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 11 months ago

Since a lot of women have started to call their female friends “girlfriends

That was the original meaning of the word before it ever had romantic connotations.

From Wikipedia...

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest meaning of the word "girlfriend", from 1859 on, was to designate "a female friend; esp. a woman's close female friend". In the late 1800s, it took on the meaning of "A female with whom a person has a romantic or sexual relationship".

[–] flicker@kbin.social 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

"Started?" Here in Tennessee we never stopped calling each other girlfriend.

But as others said, "Partner." I use it to talk about my boyfriend (since I'm a well-known demi person locally and the sex of whoever I'm with can be a massive question mark.)

[–] grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Was gonna say, women calling each other "girlfriend" when they are in fact simply friends and not dating isn't something new at all.

[–] mom@nom.mom 14 points 11 months ago

Since a lot of women have started to call their female friends "girlfriends"

This isn't really a new thing, though... Is it? Or did I miss the era where we didn't use "girlfriend" - at least sometimes - when talking about a female friend?

[–] fhek@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 11 months ago (3 children)

The new way of referring to your SO is “partner”.

So I guess like that?

[–] snooggums@kbin.social 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] metaStatic@kbin.social 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I've run into this a few times talking about my Sisters partner.

I just call him her husband now.

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[–] BellaDonna@mujico.org 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

This, I still use girlfriend interchangeably for both and it absolutely creates confusion.

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[–] awnery@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

partner is a brilliant word about to made meaningless, apparently, so, love you all, friends, buddies, girlies, girlfriends, boyfriends, beards, compatriots and fellow travelers, fuck i''m old I forgot a few dozen thousand.

share love

[–] Hello_there@kbin.social 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Lots of handholding and kissing when introducing them?

[–] ani@endlesstalk.org 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

But isn't that something girls do as... just gals being pals?

[–] 0x4E4F@infosec.pub 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

In the mouth? Probably not 🤔.

[–] ani@endlesstalk.org 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Are you sure that isn't just girls doing normal girl things?

[–] NoIWontPickaName@kbin.social 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Especially late at night during the sexy pillow fights right?

[–] 0x4E4F@infosec.pub 2 points 11 months ago

IDK, or at least I don't think so 😂.

[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm not a lesbian, but I'd probably just say girlfriend and expect people to be able to understand context.

[–] weew@lemmy.ca 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I don't know if it's just a local slang, but most straight girls I know will refer to their close female friends as girlfriends.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

That's almost strictly a straight girl thing. When all your friends are queer or queer-adjacent, it's usually understood what you mean.

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[–] Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 11 months ago
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