IDK, it just makes me feel like they’re uncomfortable or insecure about being in a gay relationship with another man and so they want to use a sexless word to describe the man they’re with. Maybe I’m looking too much into it.
Why do so many gay men use “partner” instead of “boyfriend” and “husband”?
by Anonymous | reply 85 | November 24, 2020 8:04 PM |
I say “Husbro.”
by Anonymous | reply 1 | November 21, 2020 6:48 PM |
I HATE the word “partner” too. It sounds like business partner. So unromantic.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | November 21, 2020 6:48 PM |
Boyfriend sounds too high school. Many unmarried straight people have been using partner and at first I think they are gay.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | November 21, 2020 6:48 PM |
You’re overthinking it, OP. Relax.
Besides, “husband” and “boyfriend” are heteronormative terms. Why can’t we do something different?
Now I’M overthinking it.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | November 21, 2020 6:49 PM |
I always say spouse.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | November 21, 2020 6:51 PM |
When guys get divorced they can refer to each other as a "wasband."
by Anonymous | reply 6 | November 21, 2020 6:52 PM |
I'm with r4 and reject this push for heteronormativity. It's dangerous and it's unneeded and it's dull.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | November 21, 2020 6:52 PM |
People in Europe use "partner" whether they are gay or straight. It usually denotes an unmarried union but not always. Some married couples refer to each other as "partner" and there's no anti-gay connotation to it when gay couples use it.
For couples over 30 "boyfriend" is silly and people who aren't married don't use "husband" for obvious reasons.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | November 21, 2020 6:53 PM |
My next door neighbors refer to each other as "my spouse."
by Anonymous | reply 9 | November 21, 2020 6:53 PM |
This is my top, Bruce.
This is my bottom, Kevin.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | November 21, 2020 6:55 PM |
I've always thought "boyfriend" seemed kind of juvenile in a way and "partner" too cold and open to interpretation depending on the situation.
I always say "husband" or "spouse." I went on a run of saying, "my guy" for a while.
I once knew a man who called his husband his "lover" and I could barely contain the bile rising in my throat.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | November 21, 2020 6:56 PM |
"Husbear."
by Anonymous | reply 12 | November 21, 2020 6:57 PM |
It is nomenclature lag in public.
I had friends, now ancient dead queens, who like The Naked Civil Servant RECOILED in horror at being called gay.
They were HOMOSEXUALS.
Personally, I get a thrill whenever a man introduces a husband and a woman introduces a wife.
It is what we fought for.
Sure beats Permanent Fuck Buddy...
by Anonymous | reply 13 | November 21, 2020 6:57 PM |
[quote]Maybe I’m looking too much into it.
DING DING DING DING DING! We have the winning answer!
by Anonymous | reply 14 | November 21, 2020 6:58 PM |
OP, "Husband" is a heterosexual term. Why in the world should gay men use it?
"Boyfriend" does have a high school ring to it.
"Partner" makes more sense. My friend. My guy...any of them are better than "husband". Yuk.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | November 21, 2020 6:59 PM |
We literally just did this thread three weeks ago.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | November 21, 2020 7:00 PM |
R11, “lover” was de rigueur in the 80s. I was very happy when “partner” came along.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | November 21, 2020 7:01 PM |
I’m thinking of taking a lover.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | November 21, 2020 7:02 PM |
I just say “my dude,” which my straight male bros love and now say for my boyfriend
by Anonymous | reply 19 | November 21, 2020 7:03 PM |
I would rather have a partner, but if he were to make less money than me, he would have to be the junior partner. I like that. I want a hustwink to be my junior partner.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | November 21, 2020 7:04 PM |
In the afternoon, r18?
by Anonymous | reply 22 | November 21, 2020 7:04 PM |
r15, husband and wife are LEGAL terms that we are eligible for. They are the foundation of a FAMILY.
Before Marriage Equality it was two people and THEIR children without a legal RELATIONSHIP between the "partners".
Husbands and wives are a GOOD THING.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | November 21, 2020 7:05 PM |
"Lover" was the accepted term in the early seventies when I met my husband. "This is my LUVAH!" I hated it. Partner was dumb. Significant Other or SO came along also too wordy. The terms husband or wife are unambiguous. I use husband as a rule and still get attitude from time to time.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | November 21, 2020 7:05 PM |
Lover sounds illicit
by Anonymous | reply 25 | November 21, 2020 7:06 PM |
lover can be the love of your life, but very often the rapport is one of lust and passion and the relationship will eventually fizzle ouT. People think “immoral” when you say lover.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | November 21, 2020 7:07 PM |
I prefer the term gentleman caller.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | November 21, 2020 7:11 PM |
when I hear “lover” I think of old fags from the 70s.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | November 21, 2020 7:11 PM |
Why can’t we say “this is my beau”?
by Anonymous | reply 29 | November 21, 2020 7:12 PM |
You sound nice, r28.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | November 21, 2020 7:12 PM |
R23 = a true Frau at heart.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | November 21, 2020 7:20 PM |
Tedious thread--trying to replace one orthodoxy with another.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | November 21, 2020 7:20 PM |
R27 hi Lindsaymae! How's it go in' girl? Tough break with that whole interference investigation.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | November 21, 2020 7:20 PM |
[quote]Husbands and wives are a GOOD THING.
I rather be living in sin.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | November 21, 2020 7:22 PM |
My permanent +1
by Anonymous | reply 35 | November 21, 2020 7:23 PM |
^ I would
by Anonymous | reply 36 | November 21, 2020 7:23 PM |
Were I to take a husband, I would refer to him as my smizmar.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | November 21, 2020 7:25 PM |
I say partner as we’re not married
by Anonymous | reply 38 | November 21, 2020 7:26 PM |
I'm over 70, and though I've been married to my husband for quite some time (and together for over 40 years), I prefer to use the term "partner". It just feels more comfortable to me. Perhaps it's a generational thing? The one exception is when I'm speaking with someone in their teens or twenties. Then, I'll take a deep breath and say "husband", knowing that there's very little chance of an uncomfortable reaction.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | November 21, 2020 7:29 PM |
I have a few descriptions depending on the audience- Him Indoors, Rampant Homo Lover, Husband, Partner.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | November 21, 2020 7:30 PM |
[quote] Were I to take a husband, I would refer to him as my smizmar.
Wait, I think you sneezed before you told us what you’d call him.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | November 21, 2020 7:32 PM |
I usually refer to them as hole
by Anonymous | reply 42 | November 21, 2020 7:32 PM |
I always thought it was an old-fashioned term, from days before gays could get married, that it implied a more officially committed relationship than "boyfriend" but before two men could actually be "husbands"
by Anonymous | reply 43 | November 21, 2020 7:36 PM |
I prefer "Permanent Fucktoy."
by Anonymous | reply 44 | November 21, 2020 7:36 PM |
my other half
by Anonymous | reply 45 | November 21, 2020 7:42 PM |
My fuckthing is better.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | November 21, 2020 7:45 PM |
The gay version of ball and chain, is it dildo and ball gag?
He's the old dildo and ball gag.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | November 21, 2020 7:45 PM |
"Ball and Chain" works for both sexes.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | November 21, 2020 7:52 PM |
Hi I'm Lindz and this is the owner of my favorite cock in the world, Donald.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | November 21, 2020 7:52 PM |
The legal protections are a good thing. The concept of marriage, which is a business arrangement devised to pass the woman as property from one owner to another, is fucked. Perpetuating that is fucked. Mimicking straight traditions is fucked. Straight men can keep their gross oppression based "love" contracts. We're better than that. Always.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | November 21, 2020 7:59 PM |
I say partner rather than boyfriend, as it implies more of a commitment than "bf". We're not married, yet live together, so referring to him as "husband" is as logical as calling him my roommate or something else.
When I was younger, they were boyfriends or lovers. Boyfriend sounds a bit juvenile to my ears at my age.
OP I think you are assuming bad things of gay people, simply because they may speak differently. You sound incredibly judgemental to me, for your assumption we're insecure about being in a "gay relationship". All my lesbian friends say "partner" as well, even those who are married. My straight mates introduce my live-in-lover as my partner as well.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | November 21, 2020 8:00 PM |
I say "partner" in the rare occasion I have to use a relationship term because we're not married and we're men of an age where "boyfriend" feels inaccurate,
Other than that I don't see why I need to define something that we embody alone or together.
At least the OP, unlike most of the judicial pronouncers of ignorance here, recognizes she is "reading too much" into it, perhaps. Demanding to apply one's own definitions to another person's statement of truth is the opposite of open communication. Why, if I did that I would have called the OP a cunt based on her thread title alone. Of course that would have been misplaced.
Right?
Or am I overthinking it?
by Anonymous | reply 52 | November 21, 2020 8:04 PM |
I hate the word partner and I hate the word boyfriend. The advantage of partner is that it doesn't say anything about your marital status like husband or boyfriend does. My private life is no one's business.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | November 21, 2020 9:08 PM |
For architect lady the words have nuances. I doo sex with partner like man or lady or donkey. Boyfriend give me the presents Today and Husband give me money later.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | November 21, 2020 9:09 PM |
R53 has stated her marriage boundries and is telling you now because then isn't an option to A.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | November 21, 2020 9:15 PM |
My ex calls me his "special friend", so I sometimes follow his lead and do the same. Most of the time, I refer to him as my "best friend", since he is.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | November 21, 2020 9:33 PM |
I say "He's my PF." Hold over phrase from time in the seminary, when we were discouraged from having "Particular Friendships." Not that it stopped anyone.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | November 21, 2020 10:26 PM |
[quote] My ex calls me his "special friend"
Sounds something like Anne of Cleves.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | November 21, 2020 10:51 PM |
My partner is 67 and he can't bring himself to even say partner. He avoids having to say anything but to introduce me as his friend even though everyone knows who I am after thirty years. He was brought up in a religious family in the south and had to hide it for a long time. I don't take it personally it is engrained in him.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | November 21, 2020 11:06 PM |
It's not just gay men. Rachel Maddow referred to her gf Susan as "my partner" the other night while talking about her on her show.
by Anonymous | reply 60 | November 21, 2020 11:14 PM |
This is my partner Ben. We're not gay!
by Anonymous | reply 61 | November 21, 2020 11:18 PM |
I guess Im an old fag as I always said lover . Still would ,if anyone wanted to fuck a 60 year old bottom !
by Anonymous | reply 62 | November 21, 2020 11:47 PM |
[quote] Still would ,if anyone wanted to fuck a 60 year old bottom !
You gotta pay for it now R62.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | November 21, 2020 11:49 PM |
The word "lover" bums me out, unless it's between the words "meat" and "pizza."
by Anonymous | reply 64 | November 21, 2020 11:51 PM |
Dont I know it R63 !
by Anonymous | reply 65 | November 21, 2020 11:52 PM |
If you’re married to a man, you have a husband. Period. Such as, my husband has inheritance rights, my husband has hospital visitation rights, my husband has Social Security spousal benefits rights, etc. I have no idea why anyone would hesitate to properly refer to their husband. Unless you’re visiting some ass-backward country (or particular part of a country). Then for safety reasons, go with friend.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | November 22, 2020 12:03 AM |
Forever Roommate
by Anonymous | reply 67 | November 22, 2020 12:06 AM |
[quote]If you’re married to a man, you have a husband.
R66 Says who? Sorry but I'm not interested in heterosexual terminology. I don't need the approval of straight people.
I'll refer to the person I'm married to as I please.
by Anonymous | reply 68 | November 22, 2020 12:09 AM |
R28 I happen to adore and cherish old fags from the 70s. Piss off.
by Anonymous | reply 69 | November 22, 2020 12:15 AM |
[quote]I'll refer to the person I'm married to as I please.
Yes, you can refer to him however you please. It still doesn't change the fact that he is your husband.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | November 24, 2020 2:58 PM |
I just call him what he is: my cumslut.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | November 24, 2020 3:03 PM |
What happens if you meet someone and talk about your “partner”? They will immediately assume he/she is the opposite sex. That’s why I think it’s better to say boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife so they know straight up that you’re gay.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | November 24, 2020 3:04 PM |
PARTNER PARTNER PARTNER... try and stop me!
by Anonymous | reply 73 | November 24, 2020 3:27 PM |
Anne of Cleves was “Her Highness The King’s Beloved Sister” or something like that after divorce. Just goes to show if you play nice you get palaces, allowances, titles, land, and jewels!
by Anonymous | reply 74 | November 24, 2020 4:42 PM |
Many people who are into light oral and litigation use it.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | November 24, 2020 4:44 PM |
[quote] What happens if you meet someone and talk about your “partner”? They will immediately assume he/she is the opposite sex.
I think the exact opposite.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | November 24, 2020 6:50 PM |
I’m 54 and have been in a relationship with a man I refer to as my boyfriend for 17 years. I don’t like to refer to him as a partner because we live very separate lives. We have gone through periods of living together but have always maintained distinct boundaries. It works for us. We may end up married and living together in retirement if it makes economic sense, and in that case I will refer to him as my husband.
by Anonymous | reply 77 | November 24, 2020 7:13 PM |
Do people still say “better half”?
by Anonymous | reply 78 | November 24, 2020 7:16 PM |
I refer to my husband as my superannuation policy. It has that certain je ne sais quoi, non?
by Anonymous | reply 79 | November 24, 2020 7:40 PM |
"Boyfriend" is a bit teenagery and connotes someone you've only gone out with for a short while.
"Partner" is someone you've been with for a long while (a year of more, for example) but haven't married.
"Husband" is someone you've married.
by Anonymous | reply 80 | November 24, 2020 7:41 PM |
Eldergay here. I honestly still have trouble believing we were given the right to get married.
by Anonymous | reply 81 | November 24, 2020 7:43 PM |
I call him “my fuck buddy” in work settings. Ginny from bIlling really takes issue with that. I’m not sure why?
by Anonymous | reply 82 | November 24, 2020 7:44 PM |
I use husband. It's legal and on paper, we earned it.
by Anonymous | reply 83 | November 24, 2020 7:47 PM |
In states where same sex marriage is legal, what term is used for each person on the Marriage License?
by Anonymous | reply 84 | November 24, 2020 7:56 PM |
I use 'husband,' not to emphasize the legal status of my relationship, but because it's an indication of something more serious than 'boyfriend' which sounds flippant and young in English, and something less corporate or roommate-y than 'partner.'.
'Novio/novia' in Spain is less age-specific than in English. It can be school kids or at least as often adults, and because a great many long term adult relationships are between novios rather than married couples it's heard often in an adult context.
In English there's something at least borderline frivolous about 'boyfriend,' something high school or the guy mom moved into your parent's house six months after dad died. It's frequently got some baggage attached.
by Anonymous | reply 85 | November 24, 2020 8:04 PM |