Anyone else hate to be called "ma'am"?

Options
1…910121415…21

Replies

  • SkinnieFinnie
    SkinnieFinnie Posts: 145 Member
    Options
    I don't mind it. I'm from Texas & we call everyone "Sir, Ma'am or y'all" :flowerforyou:
  • _Bob_
    _Bob_ Posts: 1,487 Member
    Options
    I hate it too :tongue:
  • cmwhited6204
    cmwhited6204 Posts: 210 Member
    Options
    Not my favorite but then I think at least he has manners compared to so many others. But I also don't like to be called Mrs either.
  • mandrox1
    mandrox1 Posts: 33
    Options
    I'm 25 and look pretty young. I get completely livid when someone calls me ma'am.
  • mgmlap
    mgmlap Posts: 1,377 Member
    Options
    I have a 16 yr old..and all her friends call me ma'am..doesnt bother me at all..its a sign of respect...besides..I am 43..
  • rebeccasedwards
    rebeccasedwards Posts: 208
    Options
    In the South it is a sign of respect. I was raised using it and my children were raised this way. Even in our school the children use it many times. It could be a lot worse like honey or sweetie.
  • fh1951
    fh1951 Posts: 441 Member
    Options
    it hasn't ever happened but if it did i'd be offended ;-)
  • TheFitHooker
    TheFitHooker Posts: 3,358 Member
    Options
    I'm in the south, Texas to be specific. Ma'am is just what we use in respect. I'm 30 year's old. Today my son got in trouble with me for saying "What" instead of "Ma'am" why? Because I want to teach my son to be respectful of his elders. I'm 21 year's older then he is, so he needs to address me as "Ma'am" and it does not one bit bother me. I like it a lot better then "What?" Or "Hey you." lol

    My cousin who lives in Ohio, moved down here for a year, when she moved back in 3rd grade, she got in trouble at school for saying "Ma'am" to her teacher. Her teacher thought she was being smart alack, but here it's just different then there.
  • melissa_leah
    melissa_leah Posts: 107
    Options
    Doesn't make a difference to me
  • cutchro
    cutchro Posts: 396 Member
    Options
    I also prefer it to Hun or Babe! Unless it's from someone I am interested in... :blushing:
  • clarkeje1
    clarkeje1 Posts: 1,627 Member
    Options
    Yeeeeees. I'm 24 and would much rather be called Ms! Ma'am should be for a married woman with children (i have neither a husband or children) and madam sounds like the head of a brothel.
  • territhefrog
    territhefrog Posts: 1,134 Member
    Options
    I am with Manda1002.....I used to hate it.....but after serving in the Navy and currently having a son in the Army.....I like it.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Options
    What we guys need is an age-neutral term to refer to females without having to go through a formal interview process and file an application to say "good morning".

    I mean, just LOOK at this thread. Look at the range of opinions, and understand that most of the men who will use these titles ARE NOT MIND READERS and cannot possibly know what offends you. And since, if any of us ever actually DO meet in person it will be probably once in our lifetimes, I simply do not have the mental capacity to remember the faces of the hundreds of thousands of people I talk to once to remember a preference that I will probably never have to recall again.

    So, in the name of male humanity, I have a question of female humanity.

    Can y'all please come up with ONE PERSONAL PRONOUN that means "absolute stranger of the feminine persuasion whom I have just met and know nothing about but must for some reason now address in a respectful fashion without making comment on nor expressing interest in their age or marital status because both are irrelevant to the conversation I am about to undertake."

    I thought it was "ma'am" for adults, "miss" for children, with some wiggle room for us older male adults to talk to younger female adults. Obviously according to the majority on this thread, I (and every other guy trying to be polite and respectful to strangers that I know) is wrong in a large number of cases. But I don't have a better alternative.
  • barney50501Missy
    barney50501Missy Posts: 79
    Options
    better than "hey b*tch". :tongue:
  • marz42
    marz42 Posts: 223 Member
    Options
    I'm 44 and I don't mind ma'am or miss. Either is fine, and I get both about equally. I *don't* like being called "young lady" ...as a much younger male clerk in a shoe store did (repeatedly) the other day. Blech. Maybe he was trying to charm me into buying shoes but it backfired. It just felt condescending and fake. I might look a bit younger than 44, but I really don't think I look younger than this mid 20s clerk was. I don't like honey or sweetie, sweetie seems worse than honey somehow.
    Exception for people a lot older than me though, I think there is a bit of a generational thing there with honey and sweetie.
  • mcjmommy
    mcjmommy Posts: 148 Member
    Options
    I don't mind ma'am, being called Mrs. R___d makes me cringe and feel like my mother-in-law! I know it's good to teach respect and I expect it of my own kids, but I'm almost 40 and still don't feel like Mrs. R___d.
  • angryguy77
    angryguy77 Posts: 836 Member
    Options
    What we guys need is an age-neutral term to refer to females without having to go through a formal interview process and file an application to say "good morning".

    I mean, just LOOK at this thread. Look at the range of opinions, and understand that most of the men who will use these titles ARE NOT MIND READERS and cannot possibly know what offends you. And since, if any of us ever actually DO meet in person it will be probably once in our lifetimes, I simply do not have the mental capacity to remember the faces of the hundreds of thousands of people I talk to once to remember a preference that I will probably never have to recall again.

    So, in the name of male humanity, I have a question of female humanity.

    Can y'all please come up with ONE PERSONAL PRONOUN that means "absolute stranger of the feminine persuasion whom I have just met and know nothing about but must for some reason now address in a respectful fashion without making comment on nor expressing interest in their age or marital status because both are irrelevant to the conversation I am about to undertake."

    I thought it was "ma'am" for adults, "miss" for children, with some wiggle room for us older male adults to talk to younger female adults. Obviously according to the majority on this thread, I (and every other guy trying to be polite and respectful to strangers that I know) is wrong in a large number of cases. But I don't have a better alternative.


    Sizzle Chest.

    Women love to be called that
  • Schraudt814
    Schraudt814 Posts: 496 Member
    Options
    It's not my favorite because I associate it with calling ladies older than me "ma'am" as a child. But as it is a sign of respect and respect seems to be SO hard to come by, I try not to complain about it. Ultimately it's manners that drives it rather than a dig at my age!
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Options
    better than "hey b*tch". :tongue:

    ^^^^ Since my attempts at being polite seem to be offending so many people, maybe I'll try this. At least I'll get a predictable outcome. :laugh:
  • marz42
    marz42 Posts: 223 Member
    Options
    I think ma'am is the best default term, even if it does make some feel old. Miss does sort of imply a younger woman, and a single status. I'm okay with either though.
    What we guys need is an age-neutral term to refer to females without having to go through a formal interview process and file an application to say "good morning".

    I mean, just LOOK at this thread. Look at the range of opinions, and understand that most of the men who will use these titles ARE NOT MIND READERS and cannot possibly know what offends you. And since, if any of us ever actually DO meet in person it will be probably once in our lifetimes, I simply do not have the mental capacity to remember the faces of the hundreds of thousands of people I talk to once to remember a preference that I will probably never have to recall again.

    So, in the name of male humanity, I have a question of female humanity.

    Can y'all please come up with ONE PERSONAL PRONOUN that means "absolute stranger of the feminine persuasion whom I have just met and know nothing about but must for some reason now address in a respectful fashion without making comment on nor expressing interest in their age or marital status because both are irrelevant to the conversation I am about to undertake."

    I thought it was "ma'am" for adults, "miss" for children, with some wiggle room for us older male adults to talk to younger female adults. Obviously according to the majority on this thread, I (and every other guy trying to be polite and respectful to strangers that I know) is wrong in a large number of cases. But I don't have a better alternative.

Categories