Anyone notice how people say “partner” now?

[Stanley]

In recent months I've noticed many people who are unmarried say partner. Opposed to saying my boyfriend/girlfriend.

In the context of a married couple it doesn’t phase me, but I keep running into more and more girls referring to their bf’s as ‘partners’ and I find it odd. To me when I hear a partner (outside the use of marriage) I infer that the person using it is lgbtqBBQ or whatever.

I understand nomenclature is always changing for better or worse, but I find this one odd. Why not just refer to them as your boyfriend or girlfriend? Wife or husband? etc…

Seems off to me. Wondering if anyone else has noticed/experienced this?

 

[devilkingx2]

I think it's weird whenever anyone says partner because it sounds like you're trying to hide the gender or the nature of the relationship.

To me, it makes them sound either gay or insecure (about not being married perhaps).

 

[BadBoy89]

It's funny, I've heard it alot too lately.

Just today I was at the bank with a Senior banker and she said before me she had an appointment with a man and his "partner", who eventually she said was a "woman". But come on, why say partner? Are you gay? Is he gay? Its like WTF.

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Maybe this will help:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/01/21/forget-boyfriend-or-girlfriend-why-millennials-are-using-word-partner/

The clearest explanation for the word’s spike in popularity is the lack of any other good options. Unmarried people in serious relationships, in particular, face a gaping linguistic hole. “Boyfriend” and “girlfriend” are too high school. “Significant other” sounds as if it belongs on a legal document. “Lover” connotes too much sex for everyday use; “companion,” not enough. “Partner,” on the other hand, implies a set of values that many couples find appealing. “It’s a word that says, ‘We are equal components of this relationship,’ ” said Katie Takakjian, a 25-year-old lawyer based in Los Angeles, who started using the term “partner” while interviewing at law firms. One of the youngest students in her law school’s graduating class, Takakjian told me, she worried the word “boyfriend” could make her seem even younger.

 

[Stanley]

It's funny, I've heard it alot too lately.

Just today I was at the bank with a Senior banker and she said before me she had an appointment with a man and his "partner", who eventually she said was a "woman". But come on, why say partner? Are you gay? Is he gay? Its like WTF.

-------

Maybe this will help:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/01/21/forget-boyfriend-or-girlfriend-why-millennials-are-using-word-partner/

The clearest explanation for the word’s spike in popularity is the lack of any other good options. Unmarried people in serious relationships, in particular, face a gaping linguistic hole. “Boyfriend” and “girlfriend” are too high school. “Significant other” sounds as if it belongs on a legal document. “Lover” connotes too much sex for everyday use; “companion,” not enough. “Partner,” on the other hand, implies a set of values that many couples find appealing. “It’s a word that says, ‘We are equal components of this relationship,’ ” said Katie Takakjian, a 25-year-old lawyer based in Los Angeles, who started using the term “partner” while interviewing at law firms. One of the youngest students in her law school’s graduating class, Takakjian told me, she worried the word “boyfriend” could make her seem even younger.

Man... some people seem totally out of it nowadays.

I see nothing wrong with bf/gf in literally any context and partner to me means you are married (or gay).

I feel like many people nowadays attempt to paint everything in such broad strokes in an attempt to adhere to social norms. I think it is silly. I recall some years ago taking offense to guys that would say chick or babe in reference to a girl. Now I look back and think "seems completely normal to me" and realized how AFC gynocentric I was.

I would never refer to my significant other or a girl I was seeing as a 'partner'. It seems so banal and disengous. At this point whenever I hear someone use a non gender specific term of endearment I think they are odd or are attempting to hide something. It just comes across as so weird to me.

Strange times

 

[BillyPilgrim]

We should just call them phuckers instead.

 

[pipeman84]

In the context of a married couple it doesn’t phase me, but I keep running into more and more girls referring to their bf’s as ‘partners’ and I find it odd. To me when I hear a partner (outside the use of marriage) I infer that the person using it is lgbtqBBQ or whatever.

Perhaps people are using the term without really thinking about what they're saying OR it actually reflects their reality. Reminds me of expressions such as 'gotta clear it with the boss' when guys refer to their wives about getting their approval for something. That tells a lot about the dynamics of their relationship.

If one has a normal, traditional, love based relationship and one has a good grasp of the language, one wouldn't use the term partner for girlfriend/boyfriend wife/husband. Yeah I know we call marriage a partnership, but it's not ... or at least it's not supposed to be ... it's a union in which the man is the leader.

 

[Giovanni SouthSide]

Where I’m from in Cali and the culture I was raised in , my exes, all latinas and one white girl always referred to me as “my man” to other people and I was all with it.
Partner? It just sounds wrong and don’t make you come off as the masculine figure head. Weird sh1t.

 

[Millard Fillmore]

I use the words that work for me - to each his own.

 

[Rainman4707]

In recent months I've noticed many people who are unmarried say partner. Opposed to saying my boyfriend/girlfriend.

In the context of a married couple it doesn’t phase me, but I keep running into more and more girls referring to their bf’s as ‘partners’ and I find it odd. To me when I hear a partner (outside the use of marriage) I infer that the person using it is lgbtqBBQ or whatever.

I understand nomenclature is always changing for better or worse, but I find this one odd. Why not just refer to them as your boyfriend or girlfriend? Wife or husband? etc…

Seems off to me. Wondering if anyone else has noticed/experienced this?

Yep..my girl has told me to stop calling her my lass and refer to her as my partner. She says calling her "my lass" makes her sound like a dog

 

[AureliusMaximus]

You may have business partners, but your are not in business with your girlfriend. In partnership you have a set of very defined business goals and visions that you work towards as a team to archive them. Failing to reach them will be punishable and you will be hold accountable for the failures.

Your girlfriend however will always have different objectives and visions of your coming future together than you will have and isn't accountable for if you do not reach your own visions and goals. Only you are.

Stop calling her your partner because she isn't that.

 

[ThisIsSparta]

I guess the whole "partner" thing origins in that god forsaken endeavour to make everyone "equal" and degrade men from the leaders of households to "equal partners" with their women. If you break up the traditional roles of man and woman, you end up as "partners".

Never be "partners" with your woman!

 

[Bokanovsky]

The word's ambiguity is probably the reason for its popularity. It can refer to just about anything: husband or wife, common law spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, gay couple, etc. By saying "partner" you convey the that there is some kind of a relationship without going into further detail. Also, a lot of older people don't like "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" because there is still a bit of stigma about being an unmarried older couple.

While I don't mind people using an all-encompassing term, I always found the word "partner' itself to be a curious choice. To me, "partner" and "partnership" are business concepts.

 

[Michael Chief]

I'm fine with saying boyfriend/girlfriend, but sometimes it feels more appropriate to use the term "partner" for my relationships because my relationships are polyamorous. A lot of people attach mononormative assumptions to the terms "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" so it felt a little weird at first. It almost felt like I was announcing to the world that I am unavailable when that just isn't the case.

 

[Stanley]

I'm fine with saying boyfriend/girlfriend, but sometimes it feels more appropriate to use the term "partner" for my relationships because my relationships are polyamorous. A lot of people attach mononormative assumptions to the terms "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" so it felt a little weird at first. It almost felt like I was announcing to the world that I am unavailable when that just isn't the case.

That's fair and seems logical in this instance.

I use the words that work for me - to each his own.

Agree, just was curious if others have noticed this trend. I tend to refer to girls in masculine terms like calling em Butch or Frank. Get a kick out of it.

I guess the whole "partner" thing origins in that god forsaken endeavour to make everyone "equal" and degrade men from the leaders of households to "equal partners" with their women. If you break up the traditional roles of man and woman, you end up as "partners".

Yes my thoughts are also centered around its usage having to do with modern 'norms' and egalitarianism

 

[Dr.Suave]

I noticed it too. I just assumed this was bound to happened after years of LGBTs pushing their agendas.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Partner is a fallacy, as it implies both parties in the relationship are equal.

 

[Canadian_Man]

I assumed that its origins were out of the LGBTQ/leftism lexicon games.

Some straight people started using it to be "inclusive" to LGBTQ folks, so that when a LGBTQ person says "partner" you can no longer know they are not straight just by that phrasing.

And it eventually caught on with others, through thoughtless repetition.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Nope. I still hear boyfriend/girlfriend most frequently unless they are gay/lesbian.

 

[member160292]

Off topic, but what would you refer your plate as?

 

[kavi]

Partner is just more classy and mature than other terms.

Husband, fiance - Connotations of actually being married or not, other questions come up like do u have kids, when is the wedding etc.
Bf/gf - this is dead no woman i knw really wants to admit to having a bf the whole bf/gf relationship is outdated and quite rare these days imo.

Partner - Vague, no questions asked, can be eithe gender, husband, bf, str, ltr, and when a girls says partner ppl get it that is is deliberately vague and so dont ask more questions and let it be.

This is really just a big clue that whole concept of relationships as we know them is being reworked.

I actually find it quite weird seeing women with bfs these days probably more about where I live in London. The few gf bf relationships I know are quite fragile and often have other social dynamics like friend group involvment that can be more important.