In the south men use terms of endearment like dear, sweetie, honey, etc. Not meant to be offensive, and if some female did take offense then I would hate to work with that person. Probably a sour personality who makes working with them unbearable. I hope this is satire
You got that right. My southern roots got me admonished here in Virginia (of all places). Too close to D.C.
I made the capital offense of called a HR person “sweetheart”; and at the time, I thought we were close professional collegues.
Boy was I wrong. I didn’t speak to her the rest of the time I was there.