> -----Original Message----- > From: Charlie Griefer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2005 11:37 AM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Re: OMG! I must have one... > > FWIW, I was curious as well. Like Tony said, 'partner' does (to me, > at least) have connotations of same-sex partnerships. Altho I've > noticed a few people on the list who use it to mean husband/wife (in > heterosexual relationships).
Honestly I must be getting old... when I read Kevin's first post I automatically, without a second thought, assumed "business partner". But still - one thing I've not seen brought is the gender specificity of English. "Partner" is gender neutral unlike "husband/wife", "girlfriend/boyfriend", etc. "Spouse" is also gender neutral but directly related to marriage. First we lack an intermediate term for committed, unmarried relationships. As has been said "boyfriend/girlfriend" is to vague a term to cover it (as it indicates no true commitment). Secondly we lack both the gender neutral language for committed relationships and (in the US as least) the legal recourse for same-sex relationships. "Husband/Wife/Spouse" are all marriage-related and while they might still be used their literal use may be incorrect. "Partner" covers both: as in business "Partner" indicates a commitment and is gender nuetral. All that said I agree that "partner" isn't a very good term (again, I think business immediately) but what's better? What term indicates a marriage-like commitment while still remaining gender neutral in English? Most alternatives are just plain unwieldy "co-committer" sounds like a criminal. "Soulmate" just sounds so new-age. "Life Partner" comes closer, but (at least to me) sounds so damn pretentious. "Companion" is just plain neutral. What's a better term? Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Find out how CFTicket can increase your company's customer support efficiency by 100% http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=49 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:143539 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
