hey girl, hey boy, hey woman ( insults and not)

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Ok, why is it that you can call an adult woman ''girl'' and it's not an insult.
''hey girl'' ''what's up, girl''

but if you called an adult male ''boy'' it's an insult
''hey,boy'' ''what happening, boy''
Guys get pissed when you call them ''boy'''

but if you call an adult woman ''woman'' it's an insult.
''hey woman'' ''how you doing, woman''

but calling an adult man, ''man'' it's not an insult
''what's up,man'' ''hey, man how you doing''

I just find it interesting

so, guys why do alot of guys hate being called ''boy''
but don't mind being called ''man''
and for the ladies, why do alot of ladies don't mind being called ''girl''
but they resent being called ''woman''

I prefer woman over girl. I think for all of them it depends on who is using it, and the manner it is meant to be taken. I'm thinking boy is used in a dismissive manner more than a friendly one.

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Just a matter of mentality, I guess it's not the same for everyone, some may not like being called girl/man and prefer the other one. Though boy is actually commonly used in an agressive way so most people are used to this. I guess it's kind of male "pride" to sound more like an adult than a child which explain why man is prefered over boy.

It depends on where you are and the social norm of the place/group. I refer to every female and male approximately may age and under as a boy or a girl. Anyone older is called an older lady or an older man. If I mean a teenager, I'll say young boy or young girl. Those under about 13 or 14 are called kids. If I need to be formal I'll say lady or gentleman and if I'm being casual I'll say chicks or guys. If I want to use "boy" in an offensive way, I'll call a grown man "little boy". Where I'm from calling me "woman" as in "Hey woman" isn't an insult, it just sounds weird. Saying "Hey lady" is though. It's "maam" or "sir" to get the attention of an adult who you don't know.

_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA.

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com

The Chemical Brothers seem to be OK with it, but I still don't have much of a clue what to use sorry. Personally I'd lean more towards using girl in speech no matter how old the woman is & how strange it might sound sometimes.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpKCqp9CALQ[/youtube]

I think it depends where you are.

I would not call any of the adult women I know "girl", definitely not appropriate.

Where I grew up, in the east of England "Alright boy" was used and is still pretty common, with a country accent in a joking way.

It depends on how it's used. I use woman and girl pretty much interchangeably. Plenty of women I know use man and boy the same way. I'm not offended by called a boy, unless it's specifically intended as an insult. Even then, it's the fact that the person is choosing to insult me, rather than the word they use, that bothers me.

It can be used as a put-down but, just as often, can be used affectionately.

Adult woman: "Hey, girl.."
Adult man: "Hey, boy.."

"Girl" in this context is short for "girlfriend" .. a slang term usually used towards someone you know. This same rule with "boy" may sound demasculating and unless you're both gay, it might be offensive. Also, "Hey boy!" is what you would say to a dog.

"Hey woman" .. is disrespectful because a grown woman has a name and should be called by her name out of respect. It is not insulting if a friend approaches you with "Hey woman" because it would be said in humour.
"Hey man" .. Is slangular and is used in many different ways without actually talking about a man, himself. I tend to use, "Holy man!" (instead of swearing).

Formal vs informal:
Formal: Approaching an elder or a stranger with "Hey man" shows lack of respect. I remember my ex referring to my grandfather with "Hey man" and I was mortified. How rude! "Hey man" really means: "Hi, how are you?" and in this context, "Hi, how are you?" is what should be said.
Informal: "Hey man" would be an appropriate expression because it has nothing to do with "man" being a "man".

Ladies vs woman: "Woman" is applied to older women so those who are offended, are sensitive with their age .. like they no longer can be called "lady" because they are "getting old".. "Lady" as in "young lady".