Not my girlfriend?

My ex did the same thing & it drove me up the wall — I’d stand there while he’d say 'this is Mia' at parties like I was some random coworker. I brushed it off at first but after a while it starts to feel like you’re invisible. I finally sat him down and said 'I need to hear you call me your girlfriend because it makes me feel secure not because I care what people think but because it shows you’re proud of us.' Turns out he didn’t realize how much it meant — he grew up in a family where no one used labels so it wasn’t personal. We found a middle ground where he started using 'my girlfriend' in situations that mattered to me like holidays or group settings. Maybe try writing him a note instead of talking in the moment — something short like 'It would mean a lot if you’d introduce me as yours. Not for them, for us.' That way he can sit with it instead of getting defensive. If he still brushes it off after that? Then yeah it might be about shame — or just a lack of emotional awareness. But give him one real shot to step up first.