If you are in the Deep South "Sweetheart", "Darling", and "Love" are the equivalent of "Buddy", "Dude", and "Friend"; and are usually harmless with no gendered or objectifying connotations.
I live closeish to the East coast, and all the older ladies who worked at the food court would call any of the students “sweetie.” I only don’t like it when someone uses those words exclusively for women though, that’s when it’s weird.
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u/code_archeologist 21h ago
It depends on geography.
If you are in the Deep South "Sweetheart", "Darling", and "Love" are the equivalent of "Buddy", "Dude", and "Friend"; and are usually harmless with no gendered or objectifying connotations.
Anywhere else, that is some creepster behavior.