Is it just me? "Miss" prefix before my first name makes me feel old.

In Asia - particularly in India- it is common to hear one's first name plus the suffix 'ji' to give respect to anyone older or if younger but has some authority .. as they would call me in a indo western way as: Ms. Susan; or Maya Maam rhymes well and locally common as Maya-ji ; Mr. Adam or Adamji or Adam ' bhai' meaning 'brother-ly respect to you.. your tea is ready; the conference is ready to start. ; They feel the need to speak with respect and it is too formal to say Mr or Mrs with your last name is too western.
 

Ms Daswani said:
In Asia - particularly in India- it is common to hear one's first name plus the suffix 'ji' to give respect to anyone older or if younger but has some authority .. as they would call me in a indo western way as: Ms. Susan; or Maya Maam rhymes well and locally common as Maya-ji ; Mr. Adam or Adamji or Adam ' bhai' meaning 'brother-ly respect to you.. your tea is ready; the conference is ready to start. ; They feel the need to speak with respect and it is too formal to say Mr or Mrs with your last name is too western.
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SeaBreeze said:
It will be interesting to see what they say April, please let us know. I never had any friends say Miss before my first name, if I was the only one they were addressing that way, I'd be curious too.
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OK, Cue the banjo music in the background, I don't like it either being called Miss Ardith by my millennial neighbors and I told them I'm not from the South, so knock it off. The third or fourth time the other day, I was taking out my trash and said "I will hit you over the head with this garbage can lid!" 😀
 
Update on my post:. The dental hygienist called me Miss last week at my first appointment, and when I asked her nicely to to not call me that she said "Oh, trying to stay young, are we?". With a snotty answer like that it proves there is generational hostility behind it, as far as I can see.
 
Temperance said:
I believe putting Miss before given name is meant as a sign of respect. And yes, used in the south more than other places. Children will always call their friends mom Miss (given name). I never took offense to it.
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Miss definitely is a sign of respect. Old time East Coast Yankees always used Miss 𝙵̲𝚒̲𝚛̲𝚜̲𝚝̲ 𝙽̲𝚊̲𝚖̲𝚎͢ when they were courting a lady.

When I first started coaching girls softball way back in the 1970s I addressed my girls as Miss __________ . To this day whenever I refer to a lady such as an athlete I use that term when referring to her. Nowadays only the world of professional wrestling uses that for lady wrestlers.

One thing more - a few years ago I was on an international tennis web site and came across something interesting. A thread existed on whether Miss/Mrs should still be used rather than Ms. For some reason a few readers (some were European) thought I was against the term Miss when I wasn't. Interesting that despite the progressive leanings of most of the readers, they thought that eliminating the term was sexist as that this is and always should be the proper term to use. After clarifying my views we came to the conclusion that, yes, this is the proper term.

I am not opposed to feminism. But it's just that I remain rather old fashion in this regard.
 
AprilSun said:
As I stated in my original post, this is just something I have been curious about for some time. I just wondered if it was just me that feels that way or is there someone else. I'm not offended and I don't say anything because I've always known that it is their way of showing respect. It just makes me feel old. But, the odd thing is, I can't remember hearing "Mr. Joe", etc. when they address a man. But, maybe it just means I'm not around men enough to know. It just doesn't seem to be as common among men as it is women. Thanks everyone for your response! I've enjoyed reading them!
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Yes, I believe it has reference to your age. I too am a mature woman who works. Information about age that should be confidential apparently is easily accessible. I find the term “Miss Jane” offensive. Same with the term “Auntie”….it’s a dig in a ageism society that fears age — or needs to see ALL women as objects. Stop it folks. Use the first name of mature women ONLY if you are in a professional an/or social environment. Ageism begins at 40 years old Generation Xer’s…
 
applecruncher said:
Madam.....ugh :)
Ma'am is okay sometimes, like from a cashier "Ma'am, you forgot your receipt/change".
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Ma'am, the female form of Sir, is something that I was taught as a small child. My first school had a female head teacher whom we were all instructed to call, "Ma'am."
As for madam, that has the misfortune to share it's definition with the proprietress of a brothel. On a cruise ship, the staff all called the ladies by the French way of pronouncing madam,which is: "Madame," making it sound like: M'darme. It was much more attractive than madam.
 
dseag2 said:
I remember this from the old days. We used to say this as kids.

Now, when someone calls me "Mr Doug" (yes, that's my name) I just consider it a term of endearment. And if a Southern woman calls me "sweetheart" or "honey" I know I'm old but it still makes me smile.
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Endearments are for those to which you are familiar…….not strangers or casual associates.
 
Oh for God sake! People have been called ma'am and sir for what? A gazillion years? So what? Get over it already! It beats what they could be calling you! I have never once felt old being called ma'am. It's just a term of respect. I'd rather be called ma'am than a get called a bitch or something worse. I swear sometimes some people are just too damn picky for their own good. There are so many horrible things going on in the world that this is something that is hardly worth getting offended over.
 
HeardWhatuSaid said:
In a professional environment any of those three are fine——followed by the last name —not the first. “Miss Anne@ denotes a familiarness that likely does not exist.
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Actually, you'd need the first and last name since in the event of a common surname, a letter could go to a person mistakenly. I've never heard of not using both Christian and surnames after a title.
 
MarciKS said:
Oh for God sake! People have been called ma'am and sir for what? A gazillion years? So what? Get over it already! It beats what they could be calling you! I have never once felt old being called ma'am. It's just a term of respect. I'd rather be called ma'am than a get called a bitch or something worse. I swear sometimes some people are just too damn picky for their own good. There are so many horrible things going on in the world that this is something that is hardly worth getting offended over.
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But still, people should be able to discuss minor grievances "among friends."
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Yeah, calling someone "Miss" must be a Southern thing. I live in Pennsylvania, and nobody has called me, "Miss".
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Yesterday, I was called 'sir'! Was masked, wearing an old big jacket of my son's. It was at the bagel store. After my order was completed, the young guy said "Anything else, SIR" and I managed to laugh it off. I have a very bad cold & my voice is in low register.
 
I have been single for over 40 years. In the beginning after the divorce I was still called Mrs then eventually my first name, usually at my request. Doctors, Banks etc., here in Canada usually use first name.

Personally I really don't care...just as long as you keep talkin to me...eh!:LOL:
 


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