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

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> 		>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

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> 		

>




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)