"Miss!"

[wisteria_]

I hate being addressed with "Miss", unless it's followed by my surname. Here's a common conversation with my students:

Student: "Miss, can I borrow a pencil?"
Me: [Pointed look at student.] "I don't know if I have any extras, KID."
Student: [Blinks then gets the point.] "Miss Wisteria, can I borrow a pencil?"
Me: [Big smile] "Sure thing!

Comments

[terileigh]

I'm with you on this. I like being called Miss because it makes me think that people still view me as young. Ma'am makes me feel like I'm in my 50's and not 31.

HOWEVER, Ma'am when said with a Southern Drawl...that's perfectly acceptable. Especially if there's a tip of a hat of any sort involved. SWOON!

[carylerg]

Ditto. All I get these days in Ma'am. :sigh:

[neonbliss]

I'm in my early 20's so being called Ma'am makes me wanna kill myself. I used to work in a chocolate shop when I was 17 and a 5 year old boy called me Ma'am and I wanted to just die right there. Another annoying name - 'Lady'. Like, "Hey Lady!" it sounds kinda rude, unless we're in England and you're married to a Lord. :P

I like Miss. One of my mum's friends calls me Miss Kat, and I think it's cute. :)

[marcee12]

Seconded, though I chose Queen/Goddess, as I'm regularly known as both. :)

[deaver]

I don't have a preference with 'Miss' or 'Ma'am', but I do frequently call friends and coworkers Miss First Name. Like, 'Miss Ann' or 'Miss Sonja'. You can generally tell if I like someone as a person by whether or not I include a 'Miss' before their name. Hee.

[julia_here]

Number 3. Or "dude." Anything but "ma'am" which makes me feel twice my age: bad enough when I was thirty, fatal now.

Julia, my cousins and I tend to address each other by our last name: Smith.

[calliopes_pen]

I've actually never been called the first two. I'm 27, but since I apparently look 15 or 16, I'm pretty much ignored.

No, wait. I stand corrected. I had one slightly crazy teacher in college, who always called me Miss Rachel, since he was insanely polite to everyone and everything. (Even when dragging in a rocking chair, and ranting about floaters going across his eyes from the back of the room... He was just nuts, but everyone loved him.)