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[ProfessionalDevelopment] RE: women, literacy, and mental illness
Robbie James
jamesr at ohio.eduWed Nov 9 10:19:40 EST 2005
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Hi Jim,
Most women I know like being referred to by name. I know I do. . . it seems
as if the male in question is actually paying attention to what you are
saying. Or you can always use the word "women" when referring to a group of
women. I've heard "gals" used and it's a non-offensive word that I don't
think places any cultural connotations on a group of women (though it does
have a Wild West feel, doesn't it?).
I think "ma'am" can be unnerving to a lot of women because I was taught,
for instance, to use it when speaking to a woman much older than myself in
respect and deference to her life experience (like saying "sir" to a male).
And, there are days when one can be taken aback when someone who looks old
enough to be your little brother says, "May I help you, ma'am."
I pretty much figure if the person speaking to me is respecting me, what
they call me will be irrelevant.
Good luck
Miss Robbie James
--On Wednesday, November 09, 2005 7:43 AM -0700 "Lively, Jim"
<livelyj at cochise.edu> wrote:
> 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
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >----------------------------------------------------
> >Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
> >ProfessionalDevelopment at dev.nifl.gov
> >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment
>
>
Robbie James
Resource Specialist/Program Liaison
C/SE ABLE Resource Center
Ohio University
338 McCracken Hall
Athens, OH 45701
800-753-1519
FAX 740-593-2834
"I'm just not sure how I'll be able to tell when I've had enough
experience. At the moment, I seem to be getting a lot of experience - maybe
too much."
--A.B.Credaro (aka Biblia, the Warrior Librarian)
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