Miss Rhino
The other day I ran into a girl that I went to high school with. We caught up and she introduced me to the guy she was with.
"This is my partner, Devin."
Now, maybe this is just me but I have always associated the term "partner" with same-sex couples. It confused me hearing it from a girl in reference to her boyfriend. And I wasn't the only one baffled by this. I was telling my friends about my run-in with Christine, and low and behold my friend Erin had also seen her and, once again, Christine had referred to her partner. Apparently she was throwing the word partner around all over town. Erin had immediately assumed Christine was referring to her girlfriend, but Facebook quickly proved her wrong. "In a relationship with Devin."
There is no rule that the term "partner" is reserved strictly for same-sex couples, so I guess it shouldn't have thrown me as much as it did. But I am curious. How many of you refer to your SO as your partner in everyday conversation?
Comments (48)
depends on how mad i am at her really
I call my boyfriend 'Kæreste' which means boyfriend or lover in Danish (he's from Denmark). So technically I'm calling him "lover". I don't think I would refer to anyone as my partner. Sounds different.
I reffer to my bf as my partner sometimes, but I usually just call him my lover, my boyfriend, my Sunshine (one of his nicknames), or just by his name. I actually use the term significant other (or SO) a lot less than I use the term "partner".
If you ask me it doesn't really matter whether someone refers to their significant other as there "partner." It could just mean that she is referring to the fact that they have been together in a relationship for a while or something.
I use the term SO on the internet, but I usually just call my boyfriend... my boyfriend. And his name also happens to be Devin haha.
actually I prefer to use the word 'partner' then SO.
i just say her name. i generally dislike phrases like "wife", "so", "girlfriend", "fiance" and/or "partner".
'Partner' is odd for hetero couples to use. I had a prof in college who did that and for the longest time I thought she was talking about a woman! Then she used a pronoun and I was wrong!
SO always seems so cold to me and Partner just sounds like a business partner or something.
Personally, I like to refer to that person as my Fella. But then the labels "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" really freak me out for some reason.
i thought it was a generation thing. like if you are middle-aged and dating, calling someone your 'boyfriend' sounds a bit immature because the person isn't exactly a boy.. and sounds short term. i've seen the term used in middle-aged unmarried long-term couples.
I actually prefer to use my boyfriend's name too. But I usually try to be gender-discreet, so I say SO. But never "partner".
@john@xanga - Interesting. What if people don't know that (your wife's name) is your wife? You'd have to explain that she's your wife, right? :P
I say girlfriend when I introduce her. She says boyfriend when she introduces me. I only hear partner when it's a same sex couple of two men. Lesbian couples tend to just say girlfriend, I find.
im gay and i dont think id call my boyfriend partner bc that would seems unloving
I don't use the term partner. I use the terms "emotional baggage" or "bitch". ;D
No, I agree with Mike_Malignant. The word just seems unloving. : /
i don't think "partner" is only for same-sex couples. i wouldn't mind using/heariing it.
My husband calls me his partner when he is teasing me cause he knows that word in relation to us annoys me.
i like the term "partner"- it conveys equality to me, and a sense of sort of being on the same team. i use it sometimes in a more generic form, but not in reference to my actual boyfriend. i also like using it sometimes because it's typically for same sex couples, and using it for my bf changes it up a bit
"Partner" and "significant other" both seem really stuffy and formal to me.
i always introduce my so as my boyfriend or by his name, never partner. i would be confused too because i thought generally that the word partner was only used for same sex but i could be wrong.
I refer to him as my boyfriend.
I
don't ever use the term "partner" to talk about my boyfriend. Haha. I just call my boyfriend my partner
in crime sometimes when we are joking around. Ha. I'd think the same
thing if a girl was to tell me about her partner, I'd think she was a
with a girl not a boy.
xo
I really dislike the word "partner" when used in terms of someone's SO, regardless of sexual orientation. I'm not sure why, but the word just makes me feel weird.
It's actually very common among my friends and colleagues to use the word "partner." It's meant to be a politically friendly term, in that it disassociates the relationship from the traditional roles that are associated with terms like "husband" and "wife." It also implies an equality in the power dynamic of the relationship. I like it.
maybe her boyfriend is actually a girl?
jokes jokes
Mostly i say my bf, or my sweetheart of prince..lover or by his name at times when i get extremely lazy. Of course i have a spew of nicknames for him. xD though some of it won't make sense to you, it makes sense to us. I only use partner like in a group with another person and or in a team. Don't know why, but that term seems so less intimate to me and i don't use terms for someone i love so dearly in that way. I'm more affectionate xD