Why are the Bush daughters always referred to as "girls"?

[RememberTheCoup]

I bear no particular ill will towards Barbara and Jenna Bush, and I don't really want to start a thread about their characters. I was just perusing some older threads in LBN and noticed this trend. When I started thinking about it, I realized that they are invariably referred to as "girls" -- heck, I've probably done it myself -- even though, if they are 22 now, they must have already been legal adults in 2000. I see their situation as analagous to Paris Hilton's; she seems about the same age, she is a celebrity for the most part, only because she comes from a rich and powerful family, and she has developed a reputation for some bad behavior. Yet, I've never seen her referred to as a "girl".

The reason this interests me is that I tend to think of myself as generally immune to spin and manipulation. Yet, at some point, I allowed myself to get in the habit of calling these two women "girls" -- a mindset that I am sure has been fostered by the White House in an attempt to make their antics seem less important and to engender a gentler treatment of them by the media and public. It makes me wonder how many other subtle manipulations have crept into my mental vocabulary even though I try to be vigilant about such things. Anyone else here sometimes catch themselves starting to submit to RW spin and have to jerk themselves back to reality?

[Skittles]

1. when I was their age

I had already served four years in the Air Force.

[King Coal]

2. I think it has something to do with their anatomy.

[Cat Atomic]

3. Conservatives take longer to mature. Dubya was 40 before he

got his first paper route.

[Mikimouse]

8. Got his first paper route? or was it...

when he finally got paper-trained?

[theboss]

4. Better than the "Gore Gals"

I think when people (especially women) grow up in the public eye, it takes us longer to accept them as adults. Britney Spears is, what, 45 now and can still get away with her "little girl" routine.

[RememberTheCoup]

7. But they didn't really grow up in the public eye

I doubt most people outside Texas even knew who they were before Bush started running for president, and they were already adults in 2000.

[Silverhair]

10. Britney Spears was born Dec 22 1981. That makes her 22. n/t

[theboss]

12. I was being silly

I know hold old she is.

Though I am not one of those guys who knows when the Olsen twins turn 18; they are creepy.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

5. It's how they act.

I think it's just a subconscious reaction to how they act. True, I'm sure at some times, they're well-behaved young women. That's not what we hear about, however. Also, I believe the WH spin machine (set on the "Tornado" setting) has effectively labeled them as girls who can't be completely responsible for their actions.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[Mikimouse]

9. Interesting observation...

I have noticed the same thing, and I think that it is the result of the way they are portrayed, as young and footloose. If I remember, Dr. Ewwwww, used to refer to Ms. Lewinsky as a poor impressionable girl, who had been raped. All BS, of course, but the image the public was exposed to left a vastly different perception than the truth.

[Silverhair]

11. The word "girl" has had a meaning drift in our language.

At one time it mean a female that had not reached puberty. Then it drifted to include females below the age of majority. Now it seems to be used to mean "unmarried female". Guys - How many of you have "girl friends", yet those girls are well past maturity.

A few years ago, when I was dating my wife - her kids refered to me as "Mom's boyfriend". I assure you, gentle reader, that I left my boyhood behind me many years ago. I didn't take offense, simply understanding that the term had drifted som in meaning.

Same with the use of "girls" to describe W's daughters.

[RememberTheCoup]

14. Yes, but it seems to be used selectively and deliberately.

"Girl" is not really the equivalent of "guy". A fifty-year-old man can be called a "guy" and not take offense. And a "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" are not necessarily assumed to be any particular age. You may have been referred to as "Mom's boyfriend", but no one would have called you a "boy". I think the word "girl" is being used because of its particular connotations. Chelsea Clinton is not often called a "girl" even though she really was a child when her father took office.

[Military Brat]

13. Just a careless term, doesn't really mean anything

Except it does give bush the added benefit of being thought of as a "daddy" instead of a "father"

[eissa]

15. It's better than calling them sluts

Relax!! I saw an opening and couldn't resist....I'm sure the bush girls are not sluts.....maybe....