Recently, a UK employment tribunal ruled in favour of an Indian-origin healthcare assistant and awarded her approx `1.7 lakh in compensation after a colleague repeatedly called her “aunty” against her wishes. It was quoted that using it when unwantedly creates an offensive environment, and constitutes harassment, age and sex discrimination and carries a negative social impact.

Aunty, a social label, reflects a generational gap and is now taken to be a ‘hostile’ and ridiculed manner of addressing a lady.   It is actually a spoiled form of “aunt,” which, according to any English dictionary, means “father’s/mother’s sister.” But in our society, it has a filthy meaning of not being young anymore, with its use further deteriorating to refer to “middle-class mentality”.

In common parlance, it refers to an ageing woman, even “not-so-elderly,” if she is married, or,........

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