Call him daddy
ROMANTIC partners generally give each other pet names the moment they hit things off. Most stay on the safe side, with clichéd expressions of endearment like babe, honey, sweetheart… and even daddy, while others have explored more custom-suited names for their partners. And while most names have been given stamps of approval, ‘daddy’ remains the centre of much controversy, most arguing that it has no place in the romance lexicon. It therefore comes as no surprise that in an attempt to elude the possible creepy element that could arise from the metaphorical use of the most common paternal endearment, we are seeing that ‘daddy’ is slowly morphing into ‘zaddy’.
Do you call your man daddy? Does he like the name? Both sexes weigh in on the use of the term in their intimate space, and whether they think that it’s hot or just plain weird.
Cheyenne, 28, linguist:
Calling my partner daddy is not hot. That’s weird. I only ever call one man daddy — calling someone else that is almost like an incestuous thought. Maybe if I never had a proper relationship with my dad I would be okay with it because then the word would mean nothing to me.
Antonique, 31, teacher:
I don’t use the term but it doesn’t bother me when I hear other women using it. I don’t think it’s weird, I just think it’s a term of endearment of sorts.
Troy, 35, DJ:
I don’t have a problem with it, depending when and how she says it. But it sounds perverted when it’s an older man and a younger girl.
Swadiean, 26, university student:
I find it weird because the moment I hear daddy my actual dad comes to mind immediately.
Oranda, 46, IT specialist:
I don’t want it to be something that she calls me all the time, but it has its place; it can be hot. Some women, more than others, can carry it off well, even in a seductive kind of way.
Tiffany, 34, language instructor:
I think that it’s weird, converting anything parental to something sexual. It doesn’t sit right with me.
Mishka, 37, accountant:
It is absolutely weird. I never call my spouse daddy — that is for my papa only.
Jason, 43, vendor:
I like it when my woman does it. I see it as my woman saying that I am a protector, provider, and those things. She rates me because I do everything for my family. From the other day she’s been calling me a different one, ‘zaddy’, and it has a buzz. Anything she decides to call me, I am good with it.
Kassidi, 30, soldier:
I find it weird that women would call their partners daddy. I don’t care if you don’t know your dad, honestly… imagine being in bed, this man deep in your soul, and you have the nerve to call him daddy. No love, that’s definitely not cute.
Monique, guidance counsellor:
Daddy is definitely not hot as an official nickname; maybe because my daddy is very much active in my life. But can you imagine my dad and my man being in the same room and the moment I say “daddy”, both of them answer?
Sanique, 36, police officer:
One puppa mi have, weh extra daddy a go? It’s definitely weird.
Oniqueka, 25, store manager:
I would be turned off if a man wanted me to call him daddy; it’s just not right. My father is dead and it’s already a sensitive topic for me, but regardless, I couldn’t see myself doing that comfortably.
Celia, 25, make-up artist:
Calling him daddy is kinda hot to me. It has a seductive feel to me, worse if he is older and is spending his money on me.
Carlos, 52, labourer:
If she calls me it now and then, fine, but I don’t want her to take it as a habit because I am not her father. I don’t want women to remind me every day that I am old with any daddy foolishness.
