I'd be interested to see where I stand in this spectrum. I'm aware that a lot of women I know are offended by being referred to as "ma'am" because they don't feel old enough for that. (You know, when you're out and someone picks up something you dropped, or you're talking to a host/ess at a restaurant, or something like that.)
Personally, I feel that the term "miss" has an implied sneer, a condescension. I'm in my 30s, I have gray hair, I usually have at least one child with me. All of this, I feel, has earned me the consideration that I am mature enough to be a "ma'am", and it does annoy me to be referred to as "miss". I don't mind it as much from someone who is clearly older than I am - in that case, "miss" is somewhat warranted - but especially if the person is clearly in their early 20s or younger, the sneering "miss" is just insulting.
Granted, this is a pretty minor annoyance. When someone refers to me as "miss", it's a brief flash of annoyance and I move on, and I've never been moved to correct anyone ... but I do wish we had a societal standard term for women. Men have Mr. and Sir. Women have Mrs., Ms., or Miss, all with different connotations, and Miss or Ma'am, which are highly polarizing.
Personally, I feel that the term "miss" has an implied sneer, a condescension. I'm in my 30s, I have gray hair, I usually have at least one child with me. All of this, I feel, has earned me the consideration that I am mature enough to be a "ma'am", and it does annoy me to be referred to as "miss". I don't mind it as much from someone who is clearly older than I am - in that case, "miss" is somewhat warranted - but especially if the person is clearly in their early 20s or younger, the sneering "miss" is just insulting.
Granted, this is a pretty minor annoyance. When someone refers to me as "miss", it's a brief flash of annoyance and I move on, and I've never been moved to correct anyone ... but I do wish we had a societal standard term for women. Men have Mr. and Sir. Women have Mrs., Ms., or Miss, all with different connotations, and Miss or Ma'am, which are highly polarizing.
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