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Kitty4670
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04 Jun 2019, 5:50 pm

Is there a difference between maid & housekeeper? What do they called now a days?



kraftiekortie
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04 Jun 2019, 6:08 pm

A "domestic engineer."

A "maid" is an insult; a "housekeeper" less of an insult.



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05 Jun 2019, 4:17 am

kraftiekortie wrote:

A "maid" is an insult;

Since when?


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05 Jun 2019, 4:59 am

If you paid a maid a decent wage I'm sure they would be happy being called that. The money is more important.



kraftiekortie
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05 Jun 2019, 7:54 pm

It's sort of like being called a busboy.....

If I was a busboy, I wouldn't want to be called that.

Usually, when somebody calls somebody someone's "maid," there's an air of condescension about it.



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05 Jun 2019, 8:00 pm

"Maid" implies that the person is female. They are usually female, but not always.

I think that's why the word is out of fashion.


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kraftiekortie
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05 Jun 2019, 9:30 pm

I’ve never heard of a male maid.....ever.



IsabellaLinton
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05 Jun 2019, 9:34 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
I’ve never heard of a male maid.....ever.


I have! It's actually a good job for OCD / autistic men who like to clean, because of the repetitive / solitary work.


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05 Jun 2019, 9:34 pm

It probably has something to do with one’s region, too. If I used the term “domestic engineer” where I’m from, no one would know what I was talking about. It’s probably very rare here for a man to have that job.



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07 Jun 2019, 6:52 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
I’ve never heard of a male maid.....ever.
I have in porn but the maid fetish most often involves the women being the maid.


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07 Jun 2019, 7:12 am

A maid was an unmarried woman, who had to work in other people's homes. They were also understood to be virgins.

In the South (US) a maid was understood to be a black slave (later a servant) who worked in the house.

Clearly words change in meaning over time. :lol:


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Kitty4670
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16 Jun 2019, 6:27 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
A "domestic engineer."

A "maid" is an insult; a "housekeeper" less of an insult.


How can maid be insult?



DanielW
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16 Jun 2019, 7:00 pm

Kitty4670 wrote:
kraftiekortie wrote:
A "domestic engineer."

A "maid" is an insult; a "housekeeper" less of an insult.


How can maid be insult?


Calling someone a maid might be offensive for a few reasons, one being that it implies that the person in question is a young woman. Historically, a maid was a young, unmarried woman. A housekeeper on the other hand was in charge of the supervision of maids. Both terms are terribly outdated and sexist.

A better term might be cleaning person or cleaner, as it is age and gender neutral. But if you are in doubt, ask the person how they would like to be addressed/ referenced.