Called Out and My Rant

Okay, so I had to call out some of the guys at the fitness club this morning. There is a group of them that do their own version of bootcamp as a cross training exercise the same time we do our bootcamp on Tues and Thurs mornings. Occasionally they will say "hello" or acknowledge us in some way - we have a good camaraderie, generally.

Today, however, I had to call them out. One of them yelled out to us in the middle of doing renegade row pushups "great job, girls". After I finished the exercise I shook my finger at them and said, "wait a minute, we are women, not girls!!" I had heard them say this multiple times on prior workouts and today I finally had to same something. Now, you might think I'm overreacting or something, but I feel really strongly about not being called a "girl". It drives me insane! It is bad enough that my college students refer to each other as "girls and boys" all of the time, but I certainly will not be referred to as that without a confrontation. Now I'm fine with the term "ladies" or even "gals" under the right circumstances, but never "girl"...unless of course I use it to talk about my g-friends.

Here are 10 of my reasons why I should not be called or referred to as a girl:

1. I am over the age of 18.
2. I don't wear pig-tails or bows of any type.
3. I don't shop in the "girls' department" at a clothing store.
4. I do not sleep with stuffed animals.
5. I have been in a committed relationship for more than 5 years.
6. I have given birth.
7. I have a full-time job.
8. I run a house-hold.
9. I have two academic degrees.
10. It is just plain offensive!!!