Oof, so true. I think many of us are forced to call our partners our 'partners' to make it abundantly clear. I've grown more comfortable with this as my relationship with my girlfriend has matured, but back in the early stages of our relationship, I was really turned off by calling her my partner. One, we're not cowboys; and two, I didn't like how the term 'partner' kinda disguises the gender of my partner. I want to be proud of the fact that my partner is female goddamit.