• taiyang@lemmy.world
    0·
    7 days ago

    I find it increasingly funny that I’m late 30s and people still guess I’m in my early 20s. I’ve tried most of my life trying to look older (it helps in academia) and if it wasn’t for “Dr.” behind my name I think I’d have a hard time getting people to take me seriously.

    Although to be fair they probably shouldn’t take me too seriously, lol.

  • ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    7 days ago

    I was at the airport going through security several years ago and there was this gal in front of me, probably out in her early twenties. She was dressed in quite a glamorous way and clearly took pride in her appearance. Seemed like a nice enough person too. For reference I was probably old enough to be her father.

    As she’s walking away I realized she had left her hand bag or some other personal item. I called out to her but for some reason I had a brainfart and said “excuse me ma’am” instead of “excuse me miss”.

    She didn’t my seem to notice my faux pas and was appreciative that I had let her know. But I sometimes wonder if after she walked away this was her “oh fuck, I’m a ma’am?!” moment. Which was definitely not my intention.

    • KombatWombat@lemmy.world
      0·
      6 days ago

      I think ma’am is a better default for strangers. It’s the best female equivalent available for sir. Miss sounds patronizing unless you are using it in place of Mrs.

  • Joelk111@lemmy.world
    0·
    7 days ago

    I dunno, I’ve been called sir since I graduated high school basically. It wasn’t a crazy “I’m getting old” moment at all.

    • pimento64@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      0·
      7 days ago

      It’s different for women. “Miss” implies youthfulness but can also be used as a snide way of implying nobody wants to marry her, whereas “ma’am” implies deference on the part of the speaker but can also be used cruelly to imply she’s old and matronly. There’s basically no situation for a woman in which something neutral or positive can’t also be used as a way of making a dig at her for not being as good as a theoretical ideal woman.

    • Ayutsu@lemmy.zipEnglish
      0·
      7 days ago

      Yeah I never felt that either but that’s probably because my mom called me miss ma’am a lot growing up.

  • Broadfern@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    7 days ago

    I have two feelings about this:

    1. This is why I call everyone “boss/captain” when I can

    2. Having lived in the US South, this wouldn’t even register for me because EVERYONE who looks 16+ gets called sir/ma’am by everyone else. Hell, I’ve seen the usage extended to kiddos to teach them universal respect through example, too.