The word ‘partner’ can feel simultaneously mature and dispassionate. It feels more business-like, and less flirty and heady than other terms of affection.
But it’s also a term that seems to come to us all, if we’re lucky enough to have a significant other later on in life.
New research from YouGov suggests that as we age, the language we use to describe our amores changes.
A survey of 37,000 Brits found that 43% would call their SO their ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’, while 41% would say ‘partner’ - so an almost equal amount.
But digging deeper, the survey found that word choice changed among age groups.
People in their early twenties are overwhelmingly (71%) more likely to say ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’, yet by the time they reach their mid-thirties, the scale starts tipping towards ‘partner’ (44% v 43%).
By the time you get to your 50s, the significant majority are plumping for ‘partner’.
So why is that?
Well, the fact that society still refers to young women as ‘girls’…a (often problematic) tag that gets dropped as we age - no one refers to middle-aged women as girls, or men as boys.
And with the business connection to ‘partner’, the term sounds infinitely more serious than ‘girl/boyfriend’. The ambiguity ‘partner’ brings over martial status or sexuality also gives couples some ownership over how they define their relationship - something that perhaps is more important as we age and as the pressures to settle down increase.
Ultimately, our language is constantly developing as we do and perhaps using ‘partner’ is the linguistic life hurdle that awaits us all