Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site hou5g.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!houxm!vax135!ariel!hou5f!hou5g!jdh From: jdh@hou5g.UUCP (Julia Harper) Newsgroups: net.singles Subject: Re: Dividing Line Message-ID: <541@hou5g.UUCP> Date: Thu, 7-Mar-85 10:06:32 EST Article-I.D.: hou5g.541 Posted: Thu Mar 7 10:06:32 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 9-Mar-85 06:20:34 EST References: <731@decwrl.UUCP> <745@amdcad.UUCP> <627@mhuxt.UUCP>, <917@vax1.fluke.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ Lines: 30 I just had a brilliant idea! Maybe part of the problem in this newsgroup of boys calling girls girls and women getting annoyed is because it really is boys and women! As in, I seem to remember that the males in this newsgroup tend to be significantly younger than the females. I think the dividing line for boy/man and girl/woman is 18-20 -- it takes time to get used to the new word for yourself. I also think that at the same time men and women start referring to their male friends as men, they should also start referring to their female friends as women. Actually, a large part of the problem is that young men are referred to as guys or fellows, and there is no equivalent vernacular for young women. (You know: 0-18 16-35? 30+ boy, guy, man girl, ? woman ) I am in the ? age group, and far prefer woman to girl. (You could even say my first reaction is not to speak to someone who calls me girl, unless they are in their 60's and are simply showing their age.) (Of course this theory doesn't explain the times I've heard 22 year old men referring to 40 year old women as girls!) -- Julia Harper [ihnp4,ariel]!hou5g!jdh