Does The LGBT Community Have Ownership Over The Word 'Partner'?

No the community doesn't. Its not a big deal. Same sex marrieds can say husband and wife -- and they did even before the SCOTUS ruling.

Next.

OP:

All the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner,

They'd be your partner and . . .

I've noticed some strait couples, usually the ones that claim their 'partner' is also their 'best friend',use the word more than husband and wife. I also think that opposite sex 'partners' can never truly be 'friends', because the genders are just so different. They share very little in common.

Straight people can call each other "partner," but unless they own a business together, why would they want to?

Of course we don't. Lots of straight people use the term for the "significant other".

Ridiculous.

It's very common among straight couples in the UK and Ireland, especially with slightly older couples who have been married before.

R6, I've heard it used on news reports and TV shows from the UK as well. I've encountered it a few times in the US, but it's not especially common here. Regardless, I don't think it matters at all unless you're calling your male partner your "wife," or your female partner your "husband," which is really odd and off-putting.

I would never say “partner.” It sounds like something you’re ashamed of.

Jesus Christ OP, the pic does nothing to dispel gay stereotypes with those two hair styles! Yikes!

And that kitchen tile in the background is atrocious! Yuck!

R6 I was going to mention that. I watch a lot of UK TV shows, and they are always using partner, especially the soaps such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

[quote]Why don't Americans use it so generally? [bold]Probably because gay and lesbian folk started using it, and no one wanted to be mistaken for gay/lesbian,[/bold] so they avoid it--though the official story is that it 'sounds too business-y'.

Best best, America!

I really don't care, do u? But I meant to write 'be best'.

[quote]I've noticed some strait couples

Oy vey!

[quote] I've noticed some strait couples

Really? I would have thought George Strait would call his wife, wife. I didn't know he was so woke.

If a couple is half Strait, it might be gay.

Maybe the area where two straits meet is a "strait couple". Like where Haro Strait meets the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia.

We’re married & use partner. As a joke sometimes husband. On here i say bf because it’s quicker to type

R8 thank you for bumping this 2015 thread with that fascinating reply - hope you die in a grease fire

Now that it's common for gay people to say "my husband" or "my wife", "partner" will revert to having no implication except "we're together and we're not married".

I don’t get why straights say it.

Howdy pardner

Is this for real? Of course there is no ownership from anywhere over the use of 'partner'. How ridiculous.

R20 it's really not difficult, at all, to think why straight people might use it, especially if they are not married (where they would normally use wife/husband). People of a certain age can often find 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend' immature terms, what do you think would be an alternative if not partner?

Not to mention it's a catch-all for every kind of romantic attachment, like if you were to send an invitation with "Partners welcome" rather than saying "Wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends welcome". It is entirely common to use 'partners' to refer to any and all combination - regardless of orientation. If you have never heard of this then I think you might need to broaden your worldview a little.

"Partner" means "partner" in Australia. It bears no weight on whether it's a gay or straight relationship.

What a dumb thread.

Yeah, it was a troll thread in 2015, it's a troll thread today.