"Started?" Here in Tennessee we never stopped calling each other girlfriend.
But as others said, "Partner." I use it to talk about my boyfriend (since I'm a well-known demi person locally and the sex of whoever I'm with can be a massive question mark.)
And that thing where you're reading something, and you know you read the words, but none of them "stick" and now you have to re-read the whole thing to figure out where you got lost.
I gotta tell ya, the only fascists I've met (who share their opinion in front of me) are online. All the ones I meet in day-to-day life are smart enough to keep their opinions to themselves.
I'm white. I have blue eyes. And when I was young, my hair was red. I was working retail, and this old lady said "Merry Christmas."
Me: "Happy Holidays!"
Her: "It's Merry Christmas. I know your boss doesn't like it, but you should say it to me. So Merry Christmas."
Me: "Are you Christian?"
Her: "Yes."
Me: "Well, I'm not. So Happy Holidays."
She got so stunned, like I'd slapped her. I was quite ready to get called in for being some kind of way with a customer but I guess she was too afraid of dealing with a heathen. Still, if you've ever worked retail, you'd know why this felt like a victory.
I understand why this is frustrating and am not trying to take that from you, but thought you'd enjoy knowing that the last old lady who I confronted about calling my girlfriend as my girlfriend (in the platonic sense) was genuinely confused about my irritation, since "isn't that the best part of having a girlfriend instead of a boyfriend? That they're also your best friend? I always thought you two really got that part right."
It's some arethestraightsokay stuff (and happened in like 2004) but I thought it might give you a smile.