babbalute wrote
Where I come from we address "chicks" with <snip>
...and where I come from we often address them as "love", darlin' or "dear" and a woman who is older than us we might even call "mum". Just because these things are socially acceptable (or commonly thought to be) where we come from or where we are now, doesn't mean they are automatically acceptable in other or wider social circles such as this one.
Or at all - consider some of the terms it was "socially acceptable" to use for some people in this country in the '70s and '80s. The fact that they were widely used and socially acceptable, didn't make it right. I'll leave that there, for fear of breaking my own rules...
An extreme example: If an African American from Detroit joined your social circle and started calling all the women "hos" or "bitches", how would you feel? It's socially acceptable where he comes from...
I often get called "oom" these days, something I readily accept because in context it's a term of respect. Still, there is a part of me that cringes and hates it every time it happens. Similarly, unless you've actually taken the time (and had the balls) to ask each and every one of the women in your social circles about it, you don't actually know if there are any with a similar reaction to being called "chick" or "goose". Sure, most will be used to it and even accept it, but how do they really feel about it?
Danny B wrote
'Chick' is better than 'binty' or 'binnay' that some of my contemporaries at Stellenbosch like to use.
...and "b***h is better than c**t. Doesn't make the first word right.
