hahaha

when im sending email and referring to guys, i can think of lots of stuff to call them when i dont remember their name. like "the gentleman who left the message" and stuff like that. hell, i even feel comfortable saying "that guy" just cause it doesnt seem "degrading" to me

so maybe im just off in the head a bit (likely) -- but when it comes to females, i always worry i'm gonna say something that offends someone if i say "the lady" or "the young lady" or "the girl with blond hair who stopped by" etc etc etc

what are some more formal ways to talk about girls who you are speaking about with someone else?

(since this is chit chat, i also expect some funny and sexist jokes to brighten my day. thank you.)

11/8/2007 10:56:40 AM

all the guys on here like to call women "broads" cause they think it sounds cool

blas started it, and everyone tore it apart

11/8/2007 10:58:02 AM

and by everyone you mean dnl

11/8/2007 10:58:20 AM

i think it sounds appropriate to say something like..

"a young lady stopped by and left you a message" (assuming shes not like 60 years old or something).

11/8/2007 10:58:28 AM

The lady should be perfectly fine as long as you aren't saying stuff like "the lady with sugar tits who stopped by the office earlier." If anybody's offended by being called a lady, they're either an idiot or a harlot.

HARLOT I SAY!

11/8/2007 10:58:41 AM

"lady" sounds best.

11/8/2007 10:59:27 AM

skanks

11/8/2007 11:02:46 AM

I would feel old if someone called me lady...I think I'd prefer woman.

Or girl, that works for all ages, no one would probably get offended at being called girl unless they were your boss or something.

11/8/2007 11:04:21 AM

or young lady if she isn't older

11/8/2007 11:04:55 AM

i guess ladies does go with gentlemen

but it just sounds weird to me, i was trying to talk to THIS ONE CHICK about some FEMALE i didnt know yesterday, so i referred to her as the "younger girl, little shorter than you, with blond hair" - and she was like "ohhh, youre talking about jenny" or some shit. but the paranoid side of me feels like that was rude and the YOUNG LADY that i was speaking with thought i was an asshole or something. i also think the "shorter than you" part could be taken the wrong way. fuck if i know

maybe i just had a booger

[Edited on November 8, 2007 at 11:06 AM. Reason : fiik]

11/8/2007 11:05:48 AM

We had a mass e-mail go out where this same thing occured. I go to an all girls school and the person sending the e-mail addressed everyone as "ladies". The militant lesbian sector got offended because the term lady goes back to when women were only seen as the mistress of the household and were not able to hold jobs outside of running said house.

So, make sure none of the chicks are militant lesbians.

Also, "chick with the nice rack" should go over well.

11/8/2007 11:06:19 AM

11/8/2007 11:07:37 AM

^that white bitch. ha ha

im waiting for StillFuchsia's opinion. shes the neighborhood militant female and a grammar ninja as well, so i'll likely use whatever she tells me!!1

11/8/2007 11:08:39 AM

Quote :

"neighborhood militant female "

winner

11/8/2007 11:10:18 AM

Men just have a lot more socially acceptable terms they can be addressed by.

dude, guy, bro, brah(please don't),boy, dog, homie, son...the list goes on.

Girls have chick, lady and woman and then the rest start to get offensive in a formal setting when you move on to ho, bitch, slut, cunt and baby.

11/8/2007 11:12:12 AM

haha

im gonna call the place and be like "yeah i was talking to this girl yesterday, really gruff, pretty good chance she's a coug chomper. do you know her extension?"

11/8/2007 11:12:29 AM

"Woman" seems best and the least objectionable. In a formal setting I don't think any word could be better.

11/8/2007 11:12:53 AM

Some ladies(hint!) find "chick" to be offensive

11/8/2007 11:13:31 AM

woman and lady are good... woman is probably better i think -- but i guess im looking for ways to be more descriptive when i ask for someone. its kinda like how some people get mad when you say that "i spoke to a younger black guy yesterday, kind of had an accent" or something and people are like OMG whys it gotta be a black guy. i want to avoid the same pitfalls with the female gender

11/8/2007 11:15:56 AM

why do some women have to be so easily offended? call me chick, bitch, broad, girl, woman, lady, etc. who cares.

11/8/2007 11:19:43 AM

I think its funny when people avoid referring to a person's race when they describe someone.

"Hey, see that guy over there, in the blue shirt, white sneakers, with the chains, you can see his underwear.."

"You mean the black guy?"

"SHHHHHH! You can't say that!"


Its not going to piss us off. If I'm trying to point out a zebra in a field of horse, I'm not telling people to look out for "the horse with the distinctive markings."

11/8/2007 11:20:34 AM

^^Ask StillFuchsia.

[Edited on November 8, 2007 at 11:21 AM. Reason : .]

11/8/2007 11:20:52 AM

Quote :

"im waiting for StillFuchsia's opinion. shes the neighborhood militant female and a grammar ninja as well, so i'll likely use whatever she tells me!!1"

Lady is a little formal, just like gentleman is. I don't see any issue with using something like "woman." If she was rightfully young, I don't think it'd be offensive to use that qualifier... Unless everyone in your office is young and then it doesn't help clarifying much. Don't ever use "chick"... that's just weird.

And yeah, it's okay to describe the person you mean (I don't think there was anything wrong with you talking about the woman having blonde hair), so long as you don't describe anything particularly racy (like "YOU KNOW, THE ONE WITH THE HUGE TITTIES!"). You're getting worried over stuff that you probably navigate just fine.

Quote :

"why do some women have to be so easily offended? call me chick, bitch, broad, girl, woman, lady, etc. who cares."

'Cause at work, it'd be totally cool if I was talking to someone else and referred to "that asshole in the cubicle around the corner who came to see me the other day."

It's not that women are generally super offended, it's about being professional at work. I mean, you'd seriously be okay with one of your bosses calling you a bitch while you're at work?

[Edited on November 8, 2007 at 11:54 AM. Reason : .]

11/8/2007 11:49:04 AM

"shorty" or "girl" work too

11/8/2007 11:53:44 AM

first problem:

Quote :

"i always worry i'm gonna say something that offends someone"

11/8/2007 11:54:25 AM

Quote :

"what are some more formal ways to talk about girls who you are speaking about with someone else"

fuck'n skanks

11/8/2007 11:55:49 AM

Quote :

"all the guys on here like to call women "broads" cause they think it sounds cool blas started it, and everyone tore it apart"

*carl face*

11/8/2007 11:56:50 AM

LMFAO good one gunzz!

[Edited on November 8, 2007 at 11:57 AM. Reason : x]

11/8/2007 11:56:54 AM

I would use woman over 'lady.'

i've read at least one article about how the word 'lady' can be seen as being degrading, as the word is soft and we often don't think about say.. a powerful and shrewd businesswoman as being a 'lady.'

11/8/2007 12:09:27 PM