The word "Gal"

 I have never found the word "gal" to be offensive.  (I'm a "gal.")  And I've never heard of anybody being offended by it.
To me, it's like calling a man a "dude" or "guy."  It's just a casual term.

I feel the same way as brownieee.

Chick, dude, guy, gal, lady, man, woman, girl, boy, maiden, bro... I don't find any of the terms to be offensive (although I'm not fond of "bro" because it's just annoying). Although I DID just realize there's a lot more terms for girls than there are for guys.

 Whatever you say, chick.

Haha, yeah, that is pretty annoying. And bra... where the hell did that come from? And what the hell does it mean?

Well, I guess I was taking the term (gal) too seriously.

It depends on the context.

I'm sure I could use the word "gal" in a derrogatory manner, just as I could use "lady", "chick", "young woman", and many others in the same way. It really just depends on what my intention is...

This is definitely a case of someone reading far too much into saying. 

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bra is slang, short for braddah. just like bro is short for brother.

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No need for disrespectful opinions.

The original argument is baseless however;
I use gal all the time when texting my best girl friends.. "what are you gals up to?"
It's all contextual.  Anything can be offensive when said in a certain manner..
aka "Whatever DUDE".  Dude must be an offensive word, too.

no i don't find it offensive.... I'm kind of confused as to how you find it really "offensive" i can understand feeling kind of weird, just becasue it's not used as often any more, but offended?

I really don't care what you call my gender but I would imagine that being refered to as a barnyard animal (chick) would be more offensive than gal or young lady

i just don't get it... sorry...

I don't find it offensive, but I do think it sounds kind of stupid.

To me it's something old people say when they're trying to be "cool."

I am an older women and find the word b**** used to relate to women truly offensive. Words are powerful. I find it extremly offensive that the younger generation use this word as if it is okay, and it is not. I hear guys use it as if it means nothing. It's derogatory and offensive in the worst way. Gal is a little out dated and i often call my female friends guys? not to bad but gal does seem wierd to me, not offensive though just out dated maybe.

agreed. although I tend to slowly back away from anyone who unironically uses the word "maiden" in any context.

Tell you what. Submit us guys a list of acceptable pronouns for women and we'll do everything we can to make sure you don't get slightly offended anymore.

Wow, well I guess I should have expected this sort of reaction, since this is what most threads have turned into. Anyways, okay I will stopped being "offended" by the word. And, no, I am not "really offended," I just felt that it rubs me the wrong way, but as someone pointed out, that could be due to it being sort of "outdated" or by the person using it in certain context.

And, if anyone bothered to read my original post, I was asking mostly what other women felt of the word and yet just as many men have chimed in about it. That's okay, but I just wanted to see if any other young women felt it's use was in the same camp as "broad" or "skirt".

So, I guess that's the end of this thread, since it's already experienced some offensive posts (which I didn't have the pleasure of reading before they were removed).

And, geez, people, I didn't mean for you to get all angry, just wanted to know what the general consensus was. Point taken. Move on.

Okay, this shows how white I am, but I actually had to look this up because even as braddah I didn't get it...

braddah:
(brah dah)
Definition: an endearing way to call somebody, also used as brah for short; also used to replace a name when you don’t remember somebody’s name; female equivalent is sistah.
Used In A Sentence: Right on, I goin’ see you latahz den braddah.
In English?: Great, I hope to see you again sometime soon.

brah:
(brah)
Definition: short for braddah or brother; an endearing way to call somebody
Used In A Sentence: Eh Brah! What Time Stay?
In English?: Excuse me fine sir, may I bother you for the time?

Why not? :( Haven't you heard? Feminism kicks major ass! I hope you keep asking these kinds of questions.....you have every right to, despite what the people trying to shut you up say.

To be fair, you did say that you saw the word being used on the forums and felt the need to tell the men to stop using the word.  You didn't just ask for feedback.

I'll fully admit that as a man, there aren't any male pronouns that offend me, obviously because men have no history (we'll narrow it to western culture, specifically) of being treated as the lesser gender, so I don't think I can ever feel objectified or slighted by a woman. I've met girls that hated the word "chick," which I get, and at least one who doesn't like "gal" (referring to you), which I don't think I'll ever get, but that's fine. I prefer using the word "dudette," and I haven't seen, and never hear, the word "gal" used in any conversation. But again, that word would never stick out to me, because it's not something that would irk me (again, 'cause I'm a dude).

Imagine a world where everyone could discourage the use of any and every word that offended them. Pretty lame. If not, very. I can name a few words/phrases that I find very offensive (non-gender based), but most of you would roll your eyes at me, and you all should, because it's not okay for me to dictate what's appropriate for everyone else to say.

 I just consider it the girl equivalent of "guy," although I agree that it does tend to be people more from our parents' generation that use the term.

Actually I was in Georgia a few years ago with my family, and my dad used the word "gal," and a girl we were with who's from the south had never even heard the term before... it's funny, you'd think a term like that would be popular in the south

this is just ridiculous.

Gal is a term used a long time ago. And it was NOT a demeaning name or anything like that. From what i understand it was primarilly used for younger women so they werent called Ma'am or something like that. Better than "babe" right? It is in no way offensive and to think so is oversensitive. Its a fun saying that has no negative connotations associated with it.

and yes, Bra is short for braddah.
now if someone calls you panties i feel that you might be correct to be speculative.

I would only be offended if I actually wore them.   ;-)

Haha, ouch. No panties=uncomfy. Anyways, I rather like the term gal. Though I notice that it seems to be used mostly by older women. Of course this comes from someone who also regularly uses bitch to refer to my guy friends

Well, I gotta say, I'm one of those people who will call their friends "bitches" and "whores" in a playful context, and they will do the same to me.
No harm is meant by it.  I take absolutely no offense to it, and neither do my friends, because we know who we are and we all know that we kid.  We know our limits, and we would never use those terms playfully when one of us is feeling down or anything.

We would only take a heavy hit if any of the terms were said in an offensive tone or context.  It's all about context for me.

As for the term "gal"...I can't see it in a derogatory context unless it's something like "She can't lift those boxes, she's a gal."
But the actual term itself wouldn't offend me.  It would be the entire phrase.

=/

Gal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gal Costa A Brazilian Bossa Nova singer.
Gal (unit), short for Galileo Unit: one centimeter per second squared
Gall Force, a 1980's japanese anime.
Gallon
Galactose
Gal, a town in Abkhazia
Gal, Azerbaijan, a village and municipality
Hal, Azerbaijan, a village
Jenny Gal, a Dutch-Italian judoka
Artist name of the Austrian composer and artist Bernhard Gál
A Hebrew language given name (lit. wave)
A Kelta origin hungarian given name (lit. chanticleer]
Gal class submarine, Israeli Navy
Gyaru, a type of young Japanese woman
Gal, the abbreviation for the orchid genus Galeandra
GAL may refer to:
     Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación, a Spanish death squad active in the 1980s set up to fight ETA
     Global Address List, in Microsoft Exchange
     Gatwick Airport Limited
     Generic Array Logic
     Gazi Anadolu Lisesi, a Turkish high school located at Ankara
     Generalized Automation Language
     Guardian Ad Litem
     Global administrative law

I think in the context in which it is currently used, it is totally acceptable. When people use it they don't use it like they would to call you a broad or a bimbo. It is kind of like the world "girl" which for a long time had a very negative connotation because of the WAY it was used, but I think we have kind of moved on from using those particular terms in a negative way.

I remember in high school, i was on the soccer team and we would have to run a LOT and for inspiration during, it was normal for girls to say to the group as a whole, "Come on ladies, we can do it!" and one day, this one girl flipped a shit because she didn't want to be referred to as a "lady" because she thought it was sexist.

I don't know, this thread reminded me of that situation.

Misread that at first and I was trying to figure out how the conversation got *there*... hah.

As for people being offended by terms... it's just a product of our connotations. I'd bet that the OP was called "gal" in a demeaning way in her past or heard it used in a demeaning way in her past... so now she's attached the connotation that it's used in a demeaning way to the word. So even if someone was using the word in a completely non-demeaning way, it's demeaning to her anyway because of the connotations she's put on the word.

We're all gals and guys there. I find it quaint and colloquial, just a little bit of old-time nostalgia. Very, very inoffensive. About as offensive as a little old lady smiling at me. Or a gentleman asking me to waltz. Or a Gallus Brothers show...uh oh I just revealed my identity...

Interesting. I think it is simply a personal thing. I have no problem with being called 'gal'. I don't equate it to the other derrogatory terms such as floozy and broad that you mentioned.

I do, however, NOT like being called 'chick' and I find it demeaning. So I think it is personal preference, I guess.

it really all depends on the intent of the word, but its kinda unreasonable to take it offensively in my opinion. Most are unaware of a demeaning or rude background (if there truly is one) and it's kinda along the same lines as "rule of thumb" (how wide a stick was allowed to be to beat your wife with) or "gypped" (referring to gypsies stealing).

if this post has taught me anything, its that i need to start using the word "floozy" more, lol.

Hamster - I think there's not a lot you can do if being called "gal" makes you cringe a bit.  You react to that word for whatever reason... it just doesn't sit well with you?

I guess I would be classified as an "older woman" and I use the term all the time.  For me I think it is just the female version of "guy."  So "woman" is what would be PC and proper, but it sounds so formal.  "Girl" works, but does that make a young woman feel like she is being looked down upon as very young?  "Gal" is a nice, informal option in my mind.  But I am "of a certain age" - lol.

So, in turn, I cringed a little when you said you think it is a class/status thing in terms of which women use the term and which ones don't.  I'm a grad student... I guess no matter how cultured or successful I become (career-wise) I don't think "gal" will ever leave my vocabulary.  It's a very useful word!  I have heard profs use it (male and female).

Yeah, it's crazy what people get worked up over.  Years ago, one of my co-workers got super upset when one off the guys (there I go) called her a "girl."  She got in his face and said "I'm NOT a girl, I'm a woman."  Like - duh - the guy didn't see that she was a woman in her 30s?  Don't sweat the small stuff.  A forum I post on that is almost exclusively women went through a skirmish (as tends to happen on these things) because one of the women referred to the other women as "guys."  One woman said "I am NOT a guy - I'm a female."  Urg - I use "guys" all the time - for any combination of both sexes.

Broads, dames, skirts, chicks... those are all terms given to women by men.  They have a different connotation for me.  I use some of those terms, but mostly tongue-in-cheek.  I think "gal" may be used more by women than men, so I wonder if it originally was coined by women.

Hamster - If you and I get in a conversation some day and I refer to you as a "gal" don't be offended (but you can still cringe a little inside).  There are so many worse things you could be called!  I know I'm dating myself by referring to women as gals.  Oh well!