(no subject)

[vaznetti]

wisteria_ is collecting everyone's most loathed fanfic words. It's very funny, and you should go take a look.

I was a little surprised to see "partner" and "lover" there, though, because both are words I use in everyday contexts--I grew up with the use of "lover" for homosexual partners ("Your cousin and her lover will be coming for dinner on Tuesday" or "So-and-so's lover just got a job in Texas, so they're moving to Houston." Everyday stuff.) And I know long-term unmarried hetero couples who use "partner." This is a little less common but is usual in introductions: "Have you met So-and-so's partner?"

Is this simply a matter of social context? In places where it's bad and shameful to be gay (or to be an unmarried couple, I guess) I can see why people avoid these words--otherwise, I'm not sure.