Girlfriend

Encyclopedia : G : GI : GIR : Girlfriend

For other uses, see (disambiguation)}}}.

Close Relationships

Attachment
Bonding
Boyfriend
Cohabitation
Divorce
Friendship
Family
Girlfriend
Jealousy
Love
Marriage
Monogamy
Open Marriage
Polyamory
Polyandry
Polygamy
Polygynandry
Polygyny
Sexuality
Separation
Swinging
Widowhood

The term girlfriend can have several meanings:

When used by a heterosexual girl or woman, the term "girlfriend" usually denotes a close female friend and has no sexual or romantic connotation. Sometimes, the phrase girl friend (with a space) or friend girl is used to avoid confusion with the romantic meaning.

The female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship with a male. In this sense the term is generally used to describe a male's courting partner or "lover" -- someone he is in love with -- and is used by all age groups. For example, "He took his girlfriend out to dinner and a movie."

When used by a lesbian or bisexual woman, the term "girlfriend" is almost always used to refer to a female that is involved in a romantic and/or sexual relationship with that person; in this usage, it is synonymous with "partner".

When used by a gay man, the term may refer to either the first sense listed above, or in a camp way, to any person he may be addressing.

In Japan, where many English words have entered the common vernacular (especially among teenagers), a "girlfriend" (ガールフレンド) is a term which does not have any romantic connotations. Rather, it is any female friend. For example, a Japanese boy calling a girl his "girlfriend" implies no romantic involvement between the two. The proper way to refer to one's female romantic partner is kanojo (かのじょ/彼女), a word which also means she or her (in the objective case). The same situation applies to the word "boyfriend" (ボーイフレンド).

Girlfriend

See also