tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21152738.post3709298838015460530..comments2024-03-27T07:37:25.421-04:00Comments on Excelsior: Give "Miss" a missBevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05412883073330413390noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21152738.post-71598666933980552942012-09-20T20:24:50.191-04:002012-09-20T20:24:50.191-04:00And "Miss" reminds me of my brief, unhap...And "Miss" reminds me of my brief, unhappy life as a waitress, when the isolated honorific served as the semi-polite equivalent of "Hey, you!"Bevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05412883073330413390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21152738.post-57672151483880899982012-09-20T19:12:33.103-04:002012-09-20T19:12:33.103-04:00"Miss" seems to be making a comeback. A..."Miss" seems to be making a comeback. As a middle-aged woman who has never been married, I always found being addressed as "Mrs." a bit disconcerting, but at least it made increasing sense as I got older, since the chances that I had been married at some point increased, and, especially since a number of my students come from cultures where honorifics for women have more to do with age and authority than with marital status, it made a certain sort of sense. I never could get students to use my preferred "Ms.", perhaps in part because in our part of the country the pronunciation of "Mrs." is pretty similar. But in the last year or two, I, too, have noticed more people -- students and others on campus -- calling me "Miss." While technically correct (though not what I prefer), I find it even more disconcerting, especially since I'm nearly 50, with the graying hair to prove it. It's the one of the few times I appreciate the option of asking to be called "Dr." Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.com