Spare me from patronising old guys

THERE aren’t too many things that grind my gears, but being called “good girl” while working in a professional capacity is one of them.

In this profession I come into contact with a wide range of people in the community, yet some take it upon themselves to call me “good girl” like it’s an encouragement.

I get the sense people say “good girl” as praise and really don’t think about how weird it is to say that to someone in their 20s.

Let me sum up for you why it is not OK to call an adult “good girl”.

First of all it’s incredibly patronising and completely unnecessary.

Secondly, I’m not sure at what age you’re technically not considered a girl any more and start being referred to as a woman, but I am well past that age.

I mean, it might be acceptable to say that to someone under the age of 12, but I’ve passed that deadline by almost a decade.

It leaves me wondering how old I have to get before people stop calling me “good girl”. Thirty, 40, 50? When does it end? In my experience, elderly men are also very keen on throwing a bit of a “darl” and “love” into any sentence. The only equivalent I can think of for males is “mate”, and that comes with a sense of shared status. Now, I don’t want to start blaming particular sections of the community. It is a widespread issue, but in my experience older white men are the main culprits. I can already hear the complaints that it’s not all men — I’m not saying it’s all men.

But when you think about it, how many times would you call a working professional man “good boy”?

Would you go for a meeting with a male bank manager and say “Oh good boy” when they approve your loan? I think not.

I doubt any of my male colleagues are referred to as “good boy” while they’re interviewing people because that would be a bit strange, wouldn’t it?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the same goes for women.

So I’d like to put a call out to everyone who thinks it’s OK to say “good girl” (or “good boy” for that matter) to stop. Please stop. If you wouldn’t call a man “good boy”, don’t call a woman “good girl”.