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Why do people call their significant others 'partners'

post #1 of 61
8/15/09 at 3:48pm
Thread Starter 
I used to think it was only homosexuals that referred to their significant others as partners, because it's gender-neutral, but I have heard several heterosexual couples use the term as well when they could have just as well used girlfriend, wife, or spouse. Spouse is gender-neutral but it appears there isn't a similar term for boyfriend/girlfriend. Partner is rather confusing as I often think of business partner, tennis partner, croquet partner, etc.
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post #2 of 61
8/15/09 at 3:50pm
It is very politically correct.
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post #3 of 61
8/15/09 at 3:51pm
Because they are hyper-PC and just plain silly. They don't want to offend anyone by saying girlfriend or boyfriend.
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post #4 of 61
8/15/09 at 3:57pm
I imagine it is squeaky-clean couples in their late 20s and early 30s who are passionate about politics that use this.
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post #5 of 61
8/15/09 at 4:02pm
I would never call my g/f a partner, but it sounds rather stupid to say boyfriend/girlfriend when you're out of school and in a serious relationship. Maybe it's just me.
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post #6 of 61
8/15/09 at 4:16pm
The only person who uses this term in a heterosexual relationship that makes sense to me is my 87 year old grandmother when referring to her 95 year old "partner". They have been lifelong friends and after becoming widow and widower, their friendship developed into love. They choose not to marry as they figure it would just make their already long-established inheritences, wills, etc. more complicated.

I sometimes say, "my grandmother's boyfriend" to my friends because it's kind of cheeky and cute among close friends and family. But she refers to him as her "partner" and I can't think of a more appropriate term.
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post #7 of 61
8/15/09 at 5:54pm
They are being annoyingly PC. Often after hearing this it is best to say something offensive to make them uncomfortable.
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post #8 of 61
8/15/09 at 5:55pm
my standard response is "oh you mean like batman and robin?"
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post #9 of 61
8/15/09 at 6:01pm
Personally, I think it sounds rather ridiculous to call someone your girlfriend if you've been dating for, like, 10 years.
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post #10 of 61
8/15/09 at 6:10pm
I remember my very pc feminist philosophy professor once saying, "The father of my children, my partner."
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post #11 of 61
8/15/09 at 6:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cancel.sing View Post
Personally, I think it sounds rather ridiculous to call someone your girlfriend if you've been dating for, like, 10 years.

Personally, I think it sounds rather ridiculous to say that you are dating someone with whom you have been for 10 years.
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post #12 of 61
8/15/09 at 6:18pm
I think the idea is that it rejects traditional gender roles. I.e. "wife" and "husband" are part of some outdated paradigm that artificially and incorrectly defines the people to whom the terms are applied.

Stupid, I think, but that is the sense I get from those who use the term.
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post #13 of 61
8/15/09 at 6:33pm
T.I. must be my significant other.
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post #14 of 61
8/15/09 at 6:39pm
Vulgar euphamism.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JonHecht View Post
Personally, I think it sounds rather ridiculous to say that you are dating someone with whom you have been for 10 years.

+1.

Marry or seperate, already.
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post #15 of 61
8/15/09 at 6:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cancel.sing View Post
Personally, I think it sounds rather ridiculous to call someone your girlfriend if you've been dating for, like, 10 years.
That is a good point and I think is a deficiency in the English language. In Chinese the term is simply male-friend or female-friend, not boy or girl. Then there's the added confusion of women often referring to their female friends as girlfriends.
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