Do you have a nickname in your relationship(s)? Are there cute little pet names you call each other?
I have been called Babe, Honey, Sweetie, Amor, Amorcito, Kiddo, Love…
My current beau, Dex, calls me Babe. He even bought me a pink baseball cap that says Babe on it.
My ex in Colombia, Said, called me Amor (love.)
Of course, other relationships have had a nickname here and there but both of these men start(ed) almost every phrase they say/said to me with those words. Babe/Amor. There is no EL. The nickname is my name. I learned to do the same. Babe this, Amor that. I don’t remember any other relationships being quite so consistent with calling each other pet names. I don’t remember what my ex-husband called me (probably because the horrible names he called me consistently at the end have overshadowed any good sweet nickname.)
I don’t mind having a nickname. At this point, it would feel weird if Dex started calling me exclusively by my name. But I wonder… is having a nickname and not being called my own name, something that makes losing myself in a relationship easier? Does it take away part of my individual identity and make me “couple” instead? Do I still have my autonomy or is the nickname pulling me into something without my actual consent?
I have no idea what made me think of this. I haven’t ever considered a nickname some nefarious threat to my personhood before. Today, someting just sent my mind in that direction and made me think…
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Do you have a nickname? What do you call your partner(s) or do they call you? Have you ever hated a nickname? Have you ever wondered if it was a good or bad thing to have one?
Music started playing anytime I opened this web site, so frustrating!