Post: #1

Has anyone noticed a trend to replace "spouse", "boy-friend", "girl-friend", "wife", "husband", "fuck buddy" with this word? I first noticed teh gey doing it years ago, but it seems to have spread to Hollywood. A few months ago I noted an actress using the term over and over on the Jay Leno show and he never asked her about it. I don't think she played for the lavender team. Now, I'm seeing it on Yelp profiles as well. Is this an attempt by the rainbow connection to make it universal?
Have I missed something?

Post: #2

I noticed this as something that originally came out of my old HR department in how they described benefits etc. From there it was adopted by managers via HR and not wanting to offend anyone, from there people who didn't want to offend anyone took it up. Spouse used to be sufficient until common law came into effect and same sex couples could get benefits but couldn't legally be called 'spouses' in the wording of benefits packages.

Post: #3

i use it to describe my LTR because we aren't married and girlfriend / baby momma seems too limiting. but we do form a household together and have a kid.

sometimes i just say wife too, just easier

Post: #4

I find it a source of great amusement.

It's great to work into a set with two chicks,

"Is this your partner, oh I apologize, I respect alternative lifestyles"

WIA

Post: #5

Mom calls her boyfriend a "partner." They say they'll never get married. Honestly I don't give a damn.

I call him her boyfriend. No sense re-inventing the wheel.

Post: #6

For young people it comes from the PC/feminist camps. It's big in the Polyamorous groups also. I think it sounds dumb unless your old (ex:divorced, find a new girl whom your never going to marry, etc), or your a queer.

I always assumed "seeing" somebody was a better term to describe somebody whom you swap bodily fluids with on the regular, but the PC camp does not like that term as it ignores female harems, and/or relationships which are purely emotional where no sex is involved.....

Post: #7

(12-27-2013 11:27 AM)reaper23 Wrote:  sometimes i just say wife too, just easier

I would advise against this. Don't know where you live but that is one of the necessary elements of a common law marriage, but if you are don't have money then I guess it wouldn't matter anyways.

Post: #8

I ran into this today. If a girl has a "partner" I assumed she is gay but maybe that's out-of-date thinking...???

I opened this girl while going for a walk. I live in a rural area so this is not a common occurrence. She asked if I was going on a pre-Superbowl walk. I told her I'm not really into football and overeating, etc... She mentioned how it was just a big advertisement for "capitalism". I said "well, yeah, consumerism".

In the course of the conversation she mentioned that she lived with her parents but also had a "partner". She works for a university as an actual paid full-on SJW... Some kind of diversity coordinator. When told her about my science background she said, "I hope you're not an investment banker are you?" Haha. (It's ridiculous because I'm so broke right now...)

Anyway, I got her email because she knew someone working in an engineering field I'm interested in. Sent her a fairly "beta" email since I figured there was no point in playing games. I'm really more interested in the networking possibility.

My excitement for the day. My "game" consisted of opening, keeping the conversation going as long as I could, and not giving a shit. It was very cold out so #2 was a slight challenge.

Maybe she isn't gay, though, just super-PC. Maybe my email was too "beta". Ugh. It gets tiresome thinking about that crap.

Post: #9

I just booked my first stay on AirBnB and the lady described the house and being her and her "partner, but he isn't around often". So...A straight couple (presumably) but she made a point to call him her "partner". Weird.

Post: #10

Maybe women should be called the 'junior partner' as they normally have less money to bring to the firm - although they often have more clients.

Post: #11

Mom referred to my sister's boyfriend as her partner. I corrected her immediately saying that makes my sister sound like a lesbian.
You know things are getting bad when a 60 year old women starts using PC jargon In reference to her own children...

Post: #12

Men need to bring the word concubine back when referring to broads in rotation.

"This is Becky, my concubine"

Post: #13

(02-06-2015 04:36 PM)sinnerman Wrote:  Men need to bring the word concubine back when referring to broads in rotation.

"This is Becky, my concubine"

theres some loaded guy near me who refers to his GF as "concubine" some newspaper wrote an article hating on him for it and he tore them apart


hes a divorce lawyer

Post: #14

American guy told me he has a partner and I replied, "So you're gay?"

He wasn't. I don't think he'll be using that word for a while.

Post: #15

If you work in a sales position it's advisable to use this word, for instance:

"how does your partner feel about you spending all this money and buying this xyz"

I once lost a big sale by assuming a lesbian I was talking to was straight; she got massively offended.

Of course it's all bollocks but when it comes to money, you gotta play the game.

Post: #16

really? i've been hearing that term for years

could never guess whether they meant business partner or life partner.

damn confusing, it is.

i may actually use it

Post: #17

(02-08-2015 06:07 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  If you work in a sales position it's advisable to use this word, for instance:

"how does your partner feel about you spending all this money and buying this xyz"

I once lost a big sale by assuming a lesbian I was talking to was straight; she got massively offended.

Of course it's all bollocks but when it comes to money, you gotta play the game.

I prefer to use "spouse" in sales situations.

Post: #18

I used to hear this word frequently in Peru when I lived there, 15 yrs ago. Now it seems like it's becoming more mainstream in the U.S. Not sure what to think. On the one hand, we only use the words "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" because we grew up using them; they are no more meaningful than "partner". One time I was on a date and my brother called me and I said "I'm out with a lady friend" and my date and the couple next to me looked at me like I was from the 1950's :/

I guess the biggest problem I have with the word "partner" is that it assumes too much...I don't think of women as my partner or my equal...certainly not 50-50 partners! I've never met an attractive women (emphasis on "attractive") who earned as much as I did, or anywhere near it. And if I did, i'll bet they would not date me - they'd be looking for someone who made more than them. The women who DO earn as much as me generally are butt-ugly, so why would I date them??

But "partner" is certainly how the family court sees it, with respect to MY money!