'Girl' vs. “Woman': Why Language Matters || Mayim Bialik

I get super annoyed when people call women "girls.' You don't call a grown man a "boy,' do you? Yes, I overthink everything. Here are my thoughts on why and how to change how we talk about women. Share your thoughts in the comments.
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You may know me as Amy Farrah Fowler from The Big Bang Theory, or from Blossom, but hopefully, these videos allow you to get to know me better as Mayim, too! Subscribe to my channel for video updates. I upload new videos every Thursday!

Find Mayim Bialik:

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About Mayim Bialik:
You ​might know me as Amy Farrah Fowler from The Big Bang Theory or from Blossom​ but there are so many other parts of me that you might not be aware of​!​​ I’m trained ​as a​ neuroscientist, ​I'm ​a passionate activist, an observant Jew, a​ perfectly imperfect​ mother, and ​I'm a complicated human being​ like many of you​. This is the place where I wear ​all of those hats - and none of them have a flower on them! ;)

[sanitysquota]

Hell Yeah! I've always hated the phrase 'little girl'. When I was a restaurant manager, I had a customer who very angrily asked me, "Where is the man in charge, little girl?" I've never been closer to homicide in my life than in that moment.

[pvnfguu]

I mean it's true though... In conversation, when asking my friends about their wives, I ask how his girl is. I'd never ask a female friend about how her boy is, implying him as her husband...that'd be weird. Why do we talk like that? If you drop your ego and just think, she's right.

[janereaction]

It annoys me when they call 20-somethings kids—- men or women. It’s like it excludes them from responsibility. Even if they are in college, they’re not kids anymore!

[thegeekyfilmguy]

I live in the UK so maybe it's different here, but here it's very common for adult males to be called boys aswell as women being called girls

[ZiplineShazam]

So, Is it ok when a woman says to her other women friends, "It's a Girl's Night Out !!" ?? or "You Go Girl !" ??? It's ALL RELATIVE !! There are times when it's totally appropriate to refer to Men as "Boys" or Women as "Girls" and then there are times that it's not. ex.(Professional Settings).  If you're in A BAR, consuming alcohol, it's ok to say something like, "Oh those boys are getting rowdy" or "Those girls are crazy."  ITS ALL RELATIVE.

[Mollari]

Toyboy, Playboy, Cowboy, Old Boy, Poster Boy, One of the Boys, Little Boys Room, Jobs For The Boys, Golden Boy, Rent Boy, Boys Will be Boys, Boys In Blue, Boys Toys, Whipping Boy, Bad/Naughty Boy, Good Old Boy, Atta Boy, Mammas Boy, Poster Boy, Cold One With The Boys, Copy Boy

All terms used to descibe grown men, you're welcome.

[T.A.G.]

Maybe we just need a new casual term for a woman that rolls off the tongue
"Woman" sounds so formal
And like you said casually, you were at the bar with "guy" friends
Not boys
Not men
Not even boys to men

[jessieissocoollike]

When I started collage, I made a conscious effort to stop calling myself a girl and start referring to myself and other college-aged women as women. I noticed that this helped me to think of myself as an adult instead of as a child. I felt more confident in my abilities to do "adult" things and also more of a responsibility to learn how to take care of myself. I really think this change in language helped me mature, which can be difficult during a time when college students often still think of themselves as children. Calling women "girls" also bothered me for all of the reasons described in this video.

[michellehower]

Additionally by calling adult females "women" and minor females "girls" one recognizes that girls are children and should be protected and treated as such. It seems that in today's culture girls are expected and encouraged to have a woman's sexuality at early and inappropriate ages. Keeping the delineation between women and girls is a small step in protecting the young ladies around us.

[DR-ueng]

So your argument seems to be for women to correct other women's "wrongthink" on this rather trivial issue of which women are also guilty. What about women calling each other "girl"? Like "Hey girl, whats up?" or "Girrlll, please, " or "girlfriends" for friends of theirs, or "girls night out", "working girl", "cover girl, " "little girls room, " "girl next door, " etc.

[alyyoop]

I've binge-watched all your channel videos. You're such an inspiration and a role model to the young generation like myself. I can relate to the topics you talk about, like being nerdy, anxious to be myself and sensitive . You're my role model and many more teenagers should watch you! Please keep up with this channel and stay true to yourself ❤

[su-rvuq]

I so agree. Adult females are not girls. Young females are girls. Adult males are not commonly referred to as boys.

[Maybwu]

In my language, you'd never ever call a woman "a girl". When you say the word "girl", it always refers to a child. So what you say sounds actually very natural and normal to me.

[_Egitor]

Hey Mayim, I was shown this video by a friend. You make a couple of very valid points - as a 29 year old male I would be shocked to be called a boy. We should all be more willing to think about the impact of our words. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your content in my subscribtion box!

[intheiruniverse]

Calling grown women ‘girls’ is patronising...especially in the workplace.

[ramonafischer]

great speech! I am 26 yrs old. Everybody calls me a girl. And it's true that it's kind of difficult to think of yourself as a self responsible mature person if people around are implicating by their choice of language that you are not. Thank you for taking the anger of a lot of people here and raising awareness of this topic. In my opinion, this is a very brave move of you

[DRGradybooks]

I graduated from a women's college, and can't stand when people immediately nod and say, "Oh, you went to a girl's college."

[BooksbyKat]

Thank you so much for saying this and making this beautiful video! <3 From one woman to another! I hear a good portion of men in the late 30's and early 40's (my age) and beyond calling women "girls" and it always is cringe worthy for me.

[LexxLifts]

There should be a female equivalent for "guy"

[Gabriela-pizt]

That was awesome, I never thought of it that way. I've even struggled with calling myself a woman and I'm a 29 year old mum! Thank you, that really inspired me :) Gabi from the UK