I hope you don't mind my asking this:

Do you call both males and females 'mate'?
or is 'mate' just for males and you use a different word for females?

From my experience, it goes for both genders, though does seem to be more common amongst and referring to males and is masculine in use IMO.

As a side note, Fil likes to call females he is fond of "doll". But so does Mil. "Doll" is a term of endearment for females in Aus IME (in my experience).

P.S.S. I really <3 acronyms... & symbols. Language evolving me thinks! &#440;&#1244;&#439; () Thx in lrg part 2 technology.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I wondered. I've been called mate on a forum before and I know the Australian who called me it knew I was female. So I figured it was either an insult or just a casual term used in passing. I decided it was the later because other than that we had a friendly discussion.

Doll, huh, well that's not too dreadful. I think you're probably right about it being a term of endearment probably a bit like when some smug old bugger calls a female 'little lady' or 'babydoll' in a condescending tone.

I enjoy acronyms & symbols and such but the techno characters that make up pictures and codes just bobble my mind.

Yeah, the butterfly didn't turn out. It was made of special characters. But you probably know what I mean ---> <3

Doll is totally meant as sweet. Even my American grandpa used to call me that. I loved it.

I used to get rather upset when someone referred to me as being little or small. But I'm over it now. Even when my husband used to say how I'm just so little (short) it used to really ire me! Yet he loves the heck out of me, hence thinks short is a good thing. Still, I did not and I felt offended. I think it was a reaction from my desire to be powerful (hence tall and mighty). I now know that what I am inside (my spirit) is really me. My vehicle might be small and round, but that's okay. I like it because it has served me well and it is perfectly lovely as small and round. Who said small and round was bad?

More importantly, Who cares?!

(Though this is all totally about my own issues)...I learned something great from watching Little People Big World when the dwarf father said when he was a child other kids used to call him "short". He said that yeah, he was short. And so? I really like that answer and attitude.

I now imagine the amazing strength gained through lessons of being disfigured, handicapped, etc. If you can see your own beauty through whatever vehicle you are in - then you win. You don't "need" to be seen as attractive by an outside source in order to be happy. You can just BE. You overcome. You are free.

Thank you Alisa, you taught me something. Until this thread, I had always thought 'terms of endearment' meant something that had to be tolerated due to social standards or manners.
I looked up the words and sure enough It's a positive thing.
I feel like such an idiot.
I can't imagine how I missed it being a positive, I guess I thought it was 'terms of endurement'

Thanks so much.