Does the term "ladies" bug you ?

[Judy from Boise]

I would never post this on the big community board because there are so many "ladies" threads lots of posters would take it personally.......but since we are "lady" free over here I can ask the question !
I personally can't stand the term, call me a women, call me female, but don't call me a lady unless in the same breath you call men "gentleman".

 

[PinkBudgie]

Ladies doesn't bother me. Being called "Ma'am" does. That was shocking the first time that happened. I do like "Girls' Night Out" better than "Ladies' Night Out" though. I teach preschool and when the kids line up I call the "ladies" first, then the "gentlemen".

And that's where I stand on this important issue.

 

[Judy from Boise]

well, I thought we would warm up on this one prior to tackling world hunger......

 

[DisneyFairytale]

Ladies doesn't bother me. Being called "Ma'am" does. That was shocking the first time that happened. I do like "Girls' Night Out" better than "Ladies' Night Out" though. I teach preschool and when the kids line up I call the "ladies" first, then the "gentlemen".

And that's where I stand on this important issue.

I really don't mind it at all when I am called lady. I find it's really respectful actually and I also agree that I really dont like ma'am either. It makes me feel old.

 

[disney-super-mom]

The term "ladies" does not bother me. However, the term "lady" does bother me a little because it can ring a little.....rough. Like if someone said, "Hey lady, do you know where the restrooms are?......I don't know, it just doesn't sound quite nice enough. I don't mind ma'am, but I think I would rather hear and use the term "miss"......"Miss, do you know where the restrooms are?" Just sounds nicer I think.

But yeah, none of the terms drive me crazy or anything like that. I'm pretty easy going.

 

[tinkermell]

I'm older, so I guess the word lady doesn't bother me at all. Same with gentleman. I'm married to one.

But if someone were to call me and say "Hey lady," like Disney-super-mom said, then I would not like that at all.

Being called "ma'am" doesn't bother me either. Especially if you are talking to someone from the South, or from the military.

Judy, this subject is funny, and I like it much better than going into "world hunger!"

Uh oh.................................will I get flamed for saying that?

 

[PebblesMK]

The term "ladies" doesn't bother me at all. However, I'm incredibly bothered when somebody calls me a woman. I'm quick to correct somebody. Call me a girl, lady, chick..anything but a woman. Likewise, I don't use the term woman or women. I'm not sure what it is with that word, but I don't enjoy it. Also, ma'am is bothersome...maybe because I'm in my 20's and feel it's reserved for older ladies or maybe the married ones with kids?

 

[Sherry E]

When I was about 19 years old and working for Poison, some of the guys in that camp would greet my female friend and me with, "Hello, ladies." We hated it. We complained. 'How dare they call us 'ladies' when we were only 19' was our thinking. It made us sound so ancient. One of the guys asked us, "Well, tell me what you prefer. What should I call you?" I don't think we ever gave him an answer. But I think he switched to "girls." Today, at my advanced age, I don't mind so much if I am referred to in a group of "ladies," but if someone singled me out and said, "Hey, lady," it would irk me. And never, ever, put the word 'old' before 'lady' or 'ladies'!!

 

[LavenderPeach]

I don't have a problem with the word lady either, except for what PPs were saying about saying "hey lady". What really bothers me is when a stranger calls me "honey". It doesn't happen very often but it really irks me when it does.

 

[pixiewings71]

I don't like the "Hey Lady" thing but otherwise it's ok, unless you're calling me an old lady and then it's just not. LOL But I don't like the Ma'am thing either, the first time someone said that it really shocked me........and not in a good way.....LOL

 

[Thumper_Man]

One of the guys asked us, "Well, tell me what you prefer. What should I call you?" I don't think we ever gave him an answer.

I hope you don't mind that a male is crashing your board, but I found this topic interesting. I hope I can you give my opinion as to why most gentlemen refer to ladies the way we do. I'll try to be the perfect gentleman here, so please don't flame me too harshly if I offend someone. As in this case; if you don't want to be called a lady, politely let the person know how you would like to be addressed. If someone asks, and you don't give an answer, then the person will use what he/she feels appropriate.

I worked as a manager in the retail business for 15 years. Growing up, I was always taught to be polite and to say: yes ma'am, no ma'am, yes sir, no sir. It was out of respect for everyone; young or old. Being a manager, I still applied the same tactics I learned as a kid. If a customer didn't want to be called by sir or ma'am, they would let me know how they would like to be addressed. "Please call me Mrs. Smith, Ms. Jones, Mr. Johnson" or simply by their first name. Once I got to know them better, I knew how to properly address them. It usually took me about 3-4 tries to get it right. I'm horrible with names.

I agree that "hey lady" is down right rude. "Excuse me ma'am but, ..." is more my style. Please know I don't mean no disrespect when I say ma'am or sir, to me it just seems more respectful until you let me know how you would like to be addressed. When it's a crowd of people, the proper respect you most often hear is: "Ladies and gentlemen."

For me, I don't mind being called sir or Mr.. I don't like being addressed to as "hey dude", or "hey bro." I'm not a surfer, nor am I your brother.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I tell my Mom "Hey lady". She hates it.

But I'm just kidding, of course.

 

[pixiewings71]

I hope you don't mind that a male is crashing your board, but I found this topic interesting. I hope I can you give my opinion as to why most gentlemen refer to ladies the way we do. I'll try to be the perfect gentleman here, so please don't flame me too harshly if I offend someone. As in this case; if you don't want to be called a lady, politely let the person know how you would like to be addressed. If someone asks, and you don't give an answer, then the person will use what he/she feels appropriate.

I worked as a manager in the retail business for 15 years. Growing up, I was always taught to be polite and to say: yes ma'am, no ma'am, yes sir, no sir. It was out of respect for everyone; young or old. Being a manager, I still applied the same tactics I learned as a kid. If a customer didn't want to be called by sir or ma'am, they would let me know how they would like to be addressed. "Please call me Mrs. Smith, Ms. Jones, Mr. Johnson" or simply by their first name. Once I got to know them better, I knew how to properly address them. It usually took me about 3-4 tries to get it right. I'm horrible with names.

I agree that "hey lady" is down right rude. "Excuse me ma'am but, ..." is more my style. Please know I don't mean no disrespect when I say ma'am or sir, to me it just seems more respectful until you let me know how you would like to be addressed. When it's a crowd of people, the proper respect you most often hear is: "Ladies and gentlemen."

For me, I don't mind being called sir or Mr.. I don't like being addressed to as "hey dude", or "hey bro." I'm not a surfer, nor am I your brother.

The reason I don't like being called ma'am is it makes me feel old....and day to day I absolutely do not feel old at all so it's a shock to my system when someone says it to me. Otherwise I have no problems with it.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I hope you don't mind that a male is crashing your board, but I found this topic interesting. I hope I can you give my opinion as to why most gentlemen refer to ladies the way we do. I'll try to be the perfect gentleman here, so please don't flame me too harshly if I offend someone. As in this case; if you don't want to be called a lady, politely let the person know how you would like to be addressed. If someone asks, and you don't give an answer, then the person will use what he/she feels appropriate.

I worked as a manager in the retail business for 15 years. Growing up, I was always taught to be polite and to say: yes ma'am, no ma'am, yes sir, no sir. It was out of respect for everyone; young or old. Being a manager, I still applied the same tactics I learned as a kid. If a customer didn't want to be called by sir or ma'am, they would let me know how they would like to be addressed. "Please call me Mrs. Smith, Ms. Jones, Mr. Johnson" or simply by their first name. Once I got to know them better, I knew how to properly address them. It usually took me about 3-4 tries to get it right. I'm horrible with names.

I agree that "hey lady" is down right rude. "Excuse me ma'am but, ..." is more my style. Please know I don't mean no disrespect when I say ma'am or sir, to me it just seems more respectful until you let me know how you would like to be addressed. When it's a crowd of people, the proper respect you most often hear is: "Ladies and gentlemen."

For me, I don't mind being called sir or Mr.. I don't like being addressed to as "hey dude", or "hey bro." I'm not a surfer, nor am I your brother.

This thread has total gender equality , infact I am just trying to find out what people prefer/dislike....not that there are any wrong answers.........I like the term women, probably because i am of the "women power" 60's time, and to my ears "ladies" sounds demeaning and as if you are empowered to make a judgement about whether i am conforming to your standard of how females should behave ie "lady like".

Obviously this is a personal problem, because most of the "ladies" threads are started by women !

Really no interest in debates, as there is no correct answer. Like you I always defer to Sir and Ma'am until requested otherwise.

 

[Tink91]

I'm older, so I guess the word lady doesn't bother me at all. Same with gentleman. I'm married to one.

Aww how sweet

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

The term "ladies" does not bother me. However, the term "lady" does bother me a little because it can ring a little.....rough. Like if someone said, "Hey lady, do you know where the restrooms are?......I don't know, it just doesn't sound quite nice enough. I don't mind ma'am, but I think I would rather hear and use the term "miss"......"Miss, do you know where the restrooms are?" Just sounds nicer I think.

But yeah, none of the terms drive me crazy or anything like that. I'm pretty easy going.

I'm older, so I guess the word lady doesn't bother me at all. Same with gentleman. I'm married to one.

But if someone were to call me and say "Hey lady," like Disney-super-mom said, then I would not like that at all.

Being called "ma'am" doesn't bother me either. Especially if you are talking to someone from the South, or from the military.

Judy, this subject is funny, and I like it much better than going into "world hunger!"

Uh oh.................................will I get flamed for saying that?

I agree with the above. I think the term lady is respectful, whereas the term women is more generic. At least, that is the way I look at it. I also am known to call men gentlemen, say guys and gals, men/women, and I use sir/ma'am a lot. I was just raised that way, and when I kid the guys I say sir, and gals I say missy. I do think "hey, lady" or "listen, lady" are rude, but if someone came to me and said, 'excuse me, lady' I wouldn't be offended.

 

[PinkBudgie]

The reason I don't like being called ma'am is it makes me feel old....and day to day I absolutely do not feel old at all so it's a shock to my system when someone says it to me. Otherwise I have no problems with it.

See, that was my problem with it too. I know they are being respectful so I'm not mad about it or anything. I guess I think of a ma'am as an old lady. I wonder if it has anything to do with where you are raised. I grew up here in California and no one I knew was ever taught to say that when speaking with adults. To me it sounds like a southern thing, but I don't know. I was taught to call adults Mr. and Mrs. though.

 

[fairykin]

I'm from the south so calling women, ladies or girls is common and respectful.
My grandmother will be 90 at the end of this month, yet she will always be a girl and what a lady she is.

 

[karylrocks]

I don't mind the term ladies, women or girls. What does bother me is "gals". I think it came from working at places where the men would say something like "just leave it with the gal at the front", as if the receptionist or any other woman working in the office was just a generic entity.

 

[Caseystigger]

I have to say I do agree with the OP's that I can't stand "Hey Lady!" Though I do do it to Mom just to annoy her at times, she laughs so its all good. But in general I'd rather hear "ladies" then "Ma'am" or "Missy" or "Sweetie" or "Honey" those just drive me crazy...do I look like a Ma'am or a Missy? As long as it isn't in a derogatory tone I am pretty easygoing.