This is, at times, a tricky issue. At my school, some women do not like being referred to as "ladies," saying the "title" puts undue societal pressure on them to behave a certain way. In the 70's we learned that many traditional expressions pointing to femaleness were unacceptable. Many, such as "Honey," "Babe," and "Darlin'," showed a certain amount of familiarity and disrespect. I have even received disapproving feedback from a woman after saying "Yes, Ma'am." My grandmother would roll over in her grave at the thought of my not responding to a woman with a one-time courteous "Yes (or No) Ma'am." I would appreciate any assistance  anyone can give me in determining the appropriate appellation or reference to the women of today. As I have three daughters, I certainly have no wish to offend to them or any woman.
Why many men seem to be happy being referred to as "guys," or even "dudes," and so forth, while we are apparently having trouble zeroing in on a proper set of references to women, I don't know. I know that, just because terms were appropriate for many years and eras, it doesn't mean they should remain appropriate. Using the term "females" as the singular reference to women does seem, at first blush, to be somewhat cold and impersonal - even robotic.
Jim
 

	-----Original Message----- 
	From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at dev.nifl.gov on behalf of Sandra Cook 
	Sent: Tue 11/8/2005 5:56 PM 
	To: professionaldevelopment at dev.nifl.gov 
	Cc: 
	Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment] RE: women, literacy, and mental illness
	
	

	Judith:

	I teach ABE/GED at a county drug treatment facility and find it to be the highlight of my week.  I have also found that the women are treated differently from the men.  Matter of fact, the inequity is rather astounding.  The men are called, "The guys, fellas, men, boys", while the women are called "females".  I have pointed this out to management that this is denigrating....more like species than humans.

	The women have to get up early (5:00 a.m. on Saturday to clean and eat breakfast) while the guys get to sleep in.  By the time they get to my class, they are tired.  I do a lot of team activities and concentrate on Language (English/Writing) improvement.

	I am also a certified career counselor and am amazed at the lack of help these women get in terms of career planning and choice.  They are told they will get help from a local social service organization, but in reality, get none.  I have pointed out the link of recividity to career choice, but I am not taken seriously.  I did my thesis on female prisoners and the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and addictionsp and find that th

	If you have any research questionaires to be distributed, I will gladly help you with your project.  Most of these women are Latina or African American.....some have sold drugs or prostituted.  Most have not completed high school.  I am also a certified Special Ed teacher and have observed learning disabilities, especially ADD....undiagnosed because they were "quiet". I also observe a high amount of depressive illness.

	Sandye Cook, ABE Instructor, Region 20 San Antonio, TX 210-884-3188
	ethat
	

		
  _____  

		From:  "Judith Sinclair" <j-p-sinclair at worldnet.att.net>
		Reply-To:  The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List <professionaldevelopment at dev.nifl.gov>
		To:  <nifl-aalpd at nifl.gov>,"Multiple recipients of list" <nifl-aalpd at literacy.nifl.gov>
		Subject:  [ProfessionalDevelopment] women, literacy, and mental illness
		Date:  Tue, 8 Nov 2005 09:29:44 -0600
		>Hello,
		>
		>I have begun work on a book that addresses the various factors that 
		>define the relationship between literacy and women's mental health, 
		>mental illness and addiction.  I am interested in the traditional 
		>biomedical, clinical, and services perspectives.  I am also 
		>interested in anecdotal materials, personal and otherwise.  Within 
		>the bounds of the literacy continuum I would include English as a 
		>second or foreign language, education levels, and so on, across all 
		>ages and populations.  If you have something I might find of 
		>interest, please let me know.  Thank you.
		>
		>Doctor Judith Sinclair
		>Cognitive Psychologist in Education
		>Social and Behavioral Analyst
		>Founder and CEO
		>Sinclair & Associates International, LLC
		>Washington, DC Office
		>email: j-p-sinclair at att.net
		>
		>
		>
		>
		>----------------------------------------------------
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