<p>Ladies, pc?!</p>
<p>Only if we get to say gentlemen.</p>
<p>To me it sounds very old-fashioned, but it does remind me of a good friend of mine from college. He was Mexican, and he was always saying “Now ladies…” when surrounded by his lady-friends. He managed to make it endearing, but I don’t think anyone else could have pulled it off.</p>
<p>mathmom-
Exactly! You have to say it in <em>just</em> that tone so that it sounds <em>demure</em> and endearing. “Girls” just sounds crass, IMO. So would “gals” or “dolls”. All fall in the same category… they sound old fashioned to me.</p>
<p>
My sister is an all-out-there feminist who once took my hubster to task (in an extremely offensive way) for the utterance of the word “girls” within the context of a discussion of their use of complex computer software–as opposed to the context of “you girls should be barefoot and pregnant” <em>lol</em>, so yes, my spelling was VERY intentional as many staunch feminists would assert that it’s best to take the “men” out of “women.” ~b.</p>
<p>
I wouldnt touch that line with a ten foot pole (pun intended:) )</p>
<p>double entendre intended as well! ;)</p>
<p>
I use “folks” when referring informally to a group of mixed or unspecified gender.</p>
<p>mootie-
Bingo!</p>
<p>jym - This was in the Dark Ages (obviously). Cloned sheep not on the horizon. Still no excuse. It was in a Silicon Valley tech firm, full of engineers - at that time, all male. Clerical/admin staff virtually all female. Like I said, Dark Ages.</p>
<p>All involved have mended their Ways and World Views. I believe in the potential of the Clueless to enlighten themselves. 
</p>
<p>Yep. I deleted it.</p>
<p>I wanted to avoid the seemingly unavoidable yet already occurring feeding frenzy. :eek: </p>
<p>In my family, it’s a term of endearment. 
Not sure you can understand this, but I’d give all for my ‘girls’.</p>
<p>However, it appears I was due for an a** chewing by you gals. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>p2n~</p>
<p>Whereas I have that same sort of visceral reaction to the term “girls” that many others here do, I can totally understand where you’re coming from. My hubster was raised by a mother who was one of 17 children in a fairly unsophisticated farm family. At 82 years old, she <em>still</em> refers to her sisters as “the girls” and it is obviously meant with great affection and respect. The men in the family also use this term with no “infantilizing” intended. That is why I try to consider the source (and the INTENDED MEANING of that source) before I lambast a word choice. I think when our conversation has to become overly fettered with PC concerns, something is lost. JMO. ~berurah</p>
<p>Well, I missed p2n’s phantom post. Was it about calling his own beloveds “girls?” Because I not only call my DS (an only) and his friends/cousins “the boys.” I call DS and DH “my boys” or “my guys.” “Boys” when I say it here, is, of course, a term of endearment and love. </p>
<p>Just try and stop me! :p</p>
<p>Of course, I’m not feeling quite so endearing when I use it as follows: “I guess I’m stuck with getting a 50” TV because my boys are ganging up on me." </p>
<p>P.S. Although I got absolutely nowhere with my cogent arguments against such a monlith TV, when DH actually went to see one, he caved. Even he, with his Boys and Their Toys ethos, could see it was ridiculous for our house.</p>
<p><em>back to your reguarly scheduled topic of the moment</em></p>
<p>There’s a big difference, IMO, between saying “my girls…”" and “you girls”… Of course, the WWW doesn’t allow us to hear the tone in which it was said, so we superimpose our own …</p>
<p>I dont see this as a feeding frenzy (tho I am hungry…). and nobody is lambasting anybody here. It’s led to an interesting discussion on how terminology is used and felt by those to whom it is referring. I often sign holiday cards with “XXXX (my name) and the guys”, and I do refer to them endearingly as guys or boys. I just wouldn’t do it to coworkers or people I didnt’ know well, I suppose. I was going to make the analogy to the formal “vous” and informal “tu” in French, but I am not sure it applies.</p>
<p>Giving this a little more thought---- IMO, the term" girls" is like calling someone you dont know well “honey” . That’s ok from my hubby, not from a casual aquaintance. Make sense?</p>
<p>jym~</p>
<p>I was not meaning to imply a “lambasting.” I did use that term, but I truly wasn’t applying it to the good-natured replies on this thread. It was actually in reference to something my sister said to my dh once. It left an indelible mark with me, that’s all. Sorry if I made you or anyone else feel badly. ~berurah</p>
<p>ok, sweetie pie :)</p>
<p>Hey. When you send a kid to Baltimore (Hopkins, MICA…), they indoctrinate you right in to the proper usage of “Hon.” As in, “Welcome to Bawlmer, Hon.” Or the Cafe Hon. Or…</p>
<p>I would never use the terms “boys” or “girls” as a demeaning term. But I’ve got to say that depending on where you live now and where you grew up, calling near strangers Hon, Honey, Dahlin’, Dear… can be SOP. It is second nature to me.</p>
<p>
Some of us native Texans even do it online, sweetie! :)</p>
<p>“My boys” has a very different meaning when I use it, since I only have one S :)</p>
<p>50" tv is for the visually impaired. We have a projector, shooting onto a 119" diagonal screen. HDTV is spectacular.</p>
<p>To take some pressure off P2N, I propose we change all references from “girls” to “chicks.”</p>
<p>Hon, you guys can call me Sweetie anytime, dahlin’. Y’all hear?</p>
<p>Can we have the next cc party at your palace, m&sdad?</p>