gender neutral terms for girlfriend\boyfriend

[blackheartedballerina]

So I have a... Person. I'm dating a gender fluid person, and for now in regular conversation have been referring to them as my girlfriend, which they know, but I'm looking for a bit of help. What terms other than boyfriend \ girlfriend \ significant other are there to refer to someone you are dating? English only has widely excepted gendered terms, unlike other languages that have neutral words.

[Not_here]

First thing that comes to mind is "partner"

[Face Up.]

Yeah, partner is what comes to my mind as well. That is what I hear tons of people around my school use to refer to the person they are dating.

[Apple Orchard Ghost]

I agree, partner is what I hear most often.

[Ozymandias]

A few I've heard: partner, significant other (or s/o), datemate, datefriend, lover, sweetheart, companion

More ideas that might be helpful: genderqueeries.tumblr.com/titles

[Kyeto-X]

One that I have heard and want to pass along is "sigfig" Kinda borrowed from math as "significant figure". But it is a cute short term to refer to someone who is close to you without assuming gender.

I have been starting to use gender neutral terms for referring to partners because I have one too many times made a heteronormative statement to a new acquaintance who turned out to be homosexual. so, instead of asking "Who is your boyfriend?" I asked "Who is your sigfig?". And honestly, I have not had THAT many odd looks about it.

Also, there is this awesome blog Here that has a whole slew of gender neutral titles for ANY relationship. Some of them are formal, and others are casual and cute.

Often times I refer to my dad's boyfriend as his partner. It seems more fitting for some reason. You've gotten a lot of other suggestions then this but I thought I would chime in.

I think you should use whatever you feel most comfortable with.

[Lamia]

I've heard people use "bae". There seem to be mixed opinions on that one, and it's not entirely for couples alone, but I dunno. I've always found it really cute and fluffy.