JJ SAYS: Is ‘girl’ an offensive term?

Just before I left on vacation for an undisclosed location, the Argus ran a story on Petaluma 360 about a female pitcher for the Sonoma Stompers who had pitched the professional baseball team to a victory. The headline I wrote read: “Stomper girl pitcher makes history with first pitching win.”

When I returned, I discovered a voice message from a carefully polite caller who forcefully chastised me for referring to the athlete as a “girl” pitcher. The caller pointed out that the pitcher is a woman or female and that calling her a girl was degrading and insulting.

My first inclination was to smile and get on with serious matters, such as how the Leghorns, minus any females, were doing, but as I thought about it, the caller had a point. Would anyone dare call Matt Bumgarner a boy? Probably not without good dental insurance.

It is never my intention to offend. I might sometimes use scarcasm where it is obviously deserved, and there are times when the truth offends.

For example, Senator Dianne Feinstein once chastised a man testifying before a Senate committee for addressing her as “Maam” rather than “Senator.” It was offensive to her, but had I been the witness I would have pointed out that today for many people in this country, “Senator” has become a derogatory term.

But as a rule, I try to avoid words, phases or descriptions that are offensive to individuals or groups. They might not be offensive to me, but then I am not in someone else’s shoes. Given a choice or a conscious thought, I would not offend.

And, that’s what happened with girl. It was not a conscious thought. Stacy Piagno is young and a female, therefore, she is a girl to me. Of course, anyone not carrying an AARP card is young to me.

I have long had an off and on debate with myself about how to describe female high school athletes. I’ve pretty much settled on boys and girls, although the truth is that most high school athletes of both genders are more mature, intelligent and certainly have a much better grasp of the use of social media than I do.

Although high school athletes of both genders are teenagers prone to episodes of immaturity, they are also young adults. Should their athletic endeavors be described as women’s and men’s sports rather than boys, and girls, sports? That sounds reasonable, but on the other hand, it seems silly to call the Petaluma High School female girls basketball players the T-Women as opposed to the T-Girls.

I’m not as big fan of political correctness. My father, who was about my height (5 feet, 4 inches if I lie), was more often called “Shorty,” than by his given name. He also referred to his co-workers and good friends by slang names reflecting their ethnicity. No offense meant, none taken.

It was a different time. My belief is that if a word, term or phrase is offensive to someone, it should not be used. Some common sense has to be applied. You can’t please everyone. There are people who can be offended by almost anything.

If I didn’t offend somebody once in awhile, I wouldn’t be doing my job.

But I do try my best (most of the time) not to offend. And I do apologize if the headline offended anyone.

I have one small item in my defense.

Piagno and her Stompers’ teammate, Kelsie Whitmore, were recently honored by the San Francisco Giants. The recognition came during the Giants’ annual “Girls Day.”

I’m not alone in my offense.

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@argus-courier.com)