People don't use wife/husband anymore?

[Usige]

Beloved however has never been a term solely associated with husbands and wives. I think a more effective method is simply referring to your spouse as wife or husband.

Heck even SS couples I’ve come across tend to use the husband or wife title to refer to their other half for the power it conveys (it’s part of why they fought to be able to marry and use the title which was denied to them by the separate but equal ideas of civil unions or domestic partnerships). If anything “partner” for them was a lesser title they used in place of being able to use husband or wife. Which makes me wonder if the use of partner won’t eventually wane now that same sex couples can utilize husband and wife when they are married, leaving partner for situations where marriage hasn’t happened yet (heterosexual or same sex).

Doesn’t matter, since I will never refer to the woman my niece sleeps with as her “wife” regardless of the legal fantasies people like to tell each other.

 

[HelenRose]

Doesn’t matter, since I will never refer to the woman my niece sleeps with as her “wife” regardless of the legal fantasies people like to tell each other.

I agree. I just find it rather sad all the ways that words are twisted and turned around. What was the one years ago POOSSLQ - people of opposite sex sharing living quarters? Now we can have POSSSLQ or POISSLQ or POMSSLQ.

There will be a whole new list after polygamy and polyandry become legal. Which I am sure is coming.

 

[Graceful_Lamb]

Not me. My husband is still my husband.

Same here.

 

[Truth_Faith13]

Beloved however has never been a term solely associated with husbands and wives. I think a more effective method is simply referring to your spouse as wife or husband.

Heck even SS couples I’ve come across tend to use the husband or wife title to refer to their other half for the power it conveys (it’s part of why they fought to be able to marry and use the title which was denied to them by the separate but equal ideas of civil unions or domestic partnerships). If anything “partner” for them was a lesser title they used in place of being able to use husband or wife. Which makes me wonder if the use of partner won’t eventually wane now that same sex couples can utilize husband and wife when they are married, leaving partner for situations where marriage hasn’t happened yet (heterosexual or same sex).

In the UK there is a heterosexual couple who are campainging to be allowed to have a civil partnership and not a marriage as they don’t want to be husband and wife, they want to have the legalities only.

Partner to me is a business term and it’s what first comes into my mind but as I said before, I don’t assume as I know assumptions can be wrong!

 

[ToeInTheWater]

I’ve seen the term in some “women’s magazines” such as “X percent of women state their partner plays a significant role in parenting”, though this strikes me as missing the point for the sake of being PC. A “partner” could be anything from a husband parenting his own kids, to a husband parenting stepkids, to an unmarried man parenting his own kids, to an unmarried man “parenting stepkids” he’s only known for the 2 months he’s been living with his latest conquest. Using the term “partner” to cover all these very different scenarios, just seems to be ridiculous.

However, I find that in general, people who take the trouble of getting married, even those who see marriage as merely a public celebration of a committed relationship that already exists, or see marriage as the absolute last step in a relationship, to come AFTER living together and having children, still use the words “husband” and “wife” in conversation.

I can even think of people who aren’t legally married, even those who have told me they have no plans to get married, who let it slide when acquaintances refer to their significant others as “husband” or “wife”.