Calling women 'mate'?

Is there any real issue with this? I tend to like using it with the bitches at work cos its friendly while not sounding rapey yet still carries the implication that if they dont pull their weight within the team they could get twatted.

i go to an all girls school

we call each other "guys", "dude", "man", "mate", "bro" all the time - we have rarely said "girl" or "sis" that's just no

so yeah i don't see an issue haha

oh but bitches - no ... unless you're super close cos when I see my friends I'll come in like SUP BITCHEZZZZ
but I don't say that to anyone I'm not close with cos it might offend them

Out of interest, why are phrases usually aimed towards guys like 'dude' or 'bro' better or superior to 'sis' or 'girl' when you're talking to other girls... in an all girl's school?

Out of interest, why are phrases usually aimed towards guys like 'dude' or 'bro' better or superior to 'sis' or 'girl' when you're talking to other girls... in an all girl's school?

i don't know it sounds weird to say! okay maybe we do use 'girl' but only in a sarcastic/ jokey manner (like "gurrrrrllll you did NOT just do that!") but 'bro' and 'dude' are used more in casual conversation. For me it just comes out... maybe it's because of all the movies and YouTubers I watch, and videogames I played and their dialogue... i really don't know why but it is the way it is haha

even our teachers (male or female) refer to us as 'guys'... idk what it is haha

'girl' and 'sis' has more intimate connotations than 'dude' or 'bro', precisely because males in general are less intimate with one another? So you wouldn't really use the former set of words to call classmates who are mere acquaintances.

That's my guess.

Yeah exactly, it's just seen as the 'default setting' in our culture and society, which I don't think is very good tbh.

hmmm yeah true - idk if it's a bad thing though - it's not offensive or anything and i don't mind it tbh

'girl' and 'sis' has more intimate connotations than 'dude' or 'bro', precisely because males in general are less intimate with one another? So you wouldn't really use the former set of words to call classmates who are mere acquaintances.

That's my guess.

Well having the male phrases as the default and women as the 'other' (you'd never call a guy 'sis' like you'd call a girl 'bro' unless you wanted to offend him) shows the genders are not on a level playing field in that regard. Phrases or names associated with the female gender belong ONLY to the female gender in society; unless you wanted to insult or belittle a guy by calling him a 'sissy'. By contrast, male nicknames or general phrases are used by everyone for everyone. Seems problematic to me.

hmm yeah but it's just the way it is isn't it? I mean it's just like when you say Doctor people usually think of a male, and when you say Nurse they think of a female. This happens automatically - it's not because they're sexist or anything it just happens... it's 'default' like you said.

i see what you're saying though.

and also - we say mankind when referring to the human race - it's like a neutral thing just like @addyaxis said...

Well it happens because of subconscious sexism really, you just make assumptions based on what you've seen and what's been pushed on you. The idea that doctors are usually male is a flawed assumption; there are many female doctors, and yet people still have this idea because of how entrenched the sexism is in our society.