Don’t Call Me ‘Honey’

Don’t call me honey.   I ain’t your baby.  A dear is an animal that lives in the woods.

What is it with men?  Lately, whether it’s a client on the other end of the phone, or the drycleaner around the corner, every man I come into contact with feels it’s acceptable to call me anything EXCEPT my given name.  Hell, at this rate I’d be happy to get a “ma’am.”

Sweetie.  Honey.  Baby.  Some call them “endearments.”  I think of them as “diminutives.”  Something said to make me feel smaller, less important, childlike.

I had a boyfriend in the food service industry who once called me only food-related names:  honey, sugar, sweet pea, jelly bean, muffin…you get the idea.

You don’t see men saddled with such “endearments” do you?  Every term women use to describe men seems to build them up, not make them less:  They’re a HUNK…they’re as handsome as a Greek GOD…nobody’s gonna call the guy at the gym who bench presses 260 jelly bean!

Why would any woman want to be referred to as “baby?”  I’m not a baby.  I can dress and feed and take care of myself thank you very much!  I don’t need constant attention or coddling.  You don’t need to handle me with care.

What’s wrong with a strong woman?  A woman who can take care of herself?

If anyone’s a “baby” it’s that guy at the gym when he’s caught the common cold.  Have you ever played nursemaid to a man with the sniffles?  Now that’s a herculean task!