Call me Miss (A woman nails feminism, some understands Orwell Alert)

http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/p/pawlik/pawlik091603.htm ^ | 9-18-2003 | Amber Pawlik

[xp38]

Back in my youth I was playing a pinball machine in a club and Stiv came up to me and we conversed for few moments. He never mentioned that trauma though. :)

[Porterville]

Orwell wrote about a society that sought to break men’s souls

[StriperSniper]

A good friend of mine did the groupie thing for a time and got one of his leather vests from him as a souvenir. Nice vest, fit me well too, but she was the only one allowed to wear it unless she wanted to take your picture wearing only it. ;-)

[NYpeanut]

Me, too. It's easy and it makes sense. This is a non-issue.

[longtermmemmory]

It depends on the circumstances involved. Social vs Business. You may use Ms. as a safe harbor, however once a woman makes her preference known it speaks volumes.

It is only good business judgement to treat all women in business who use Ms. with automatic suspicion.

[Tailgunner Joe]

bttt

[Guenevere]

I don't know if it's on the wane or not....I hope so!

And I might as well get all my pet peeves out of my system :^)

I do not like the checkout man/woman at the supermarket to look at my check and instead of 'thank-you Mrs.whatever'....they say 'thank-you --and use my first name'

Call me old fashion, but they don't know me, and I don't know them.....and I'm tired of the familiarity!

You might agree with me, but I'm sure there are some here who don't.

[glory]

No one is saying that was not happening. If you would read my post again you would see that I said that cyborg's mother(and my mother) were speaking ON WOMEN, AS WOMEN, FROM A WOMAN'S PERSPECTIVE. My mother at least, never gave men of that era a pass on their behavior or grooming, but as a woman, she just noticed more what women of her era were doing.
I don't know how many other ways I can clarify it so if you still insist that men are somehow getting a pass, I can't help you any further in figuring out why that is.

[glory]

LOL--so that explains the punk movement;-)

[austinTparty]

Amen, sister. ;o)

[GovernmentShrinker]

I did. I had originally invited 5 contractors. None of the others made any such request. It was clear that the one I cancelled was primarily focused on sales closing techniques, and didn't want to waste a minute considering and discussing the work I wanted done unless all the "decision makers" were present to be pressured into a quick decision -- they were so programmed in their sales closing techniques that they sent me what was essentially a form letter. The other contractors were interested in discussing details of the work, alternatives, costs, and when they would be able to do it. In other words, the others were paying attention to ME, and therefore quickly caught on that I was the entirety of the potential client. The high pressure sales contractor was focused on THEIR business to the absolute exclusion of any interest in me and my needs, so predictably they just made assumptions and plowed ahead with their silly letter. I have no doubt that their work would have reflected the same "who cares about the client, we're here to make a fast buck" attitude.

[NYpeanut]

Sorry, I don't agree. This is a mountain > molehill topic. Once anyone makes their title preference known to me in business or otherwise, I will respect it. It's good business and common courtesy.

[I_dmc]

Whoa. Wearing a wedding ring is "unliberated"? I couldn't bring myself to take one off, until I was unmarried...every time.

[showme_the_Glory]

she would put a broom in their office with a note that said "clean up your act or ride it out.......Any questions, come see me".


HaHaHaHaHa. That's great.

[twigs]

I was unmarried when I held a managerial position. I was not interested in pursuing married men and that message was not ambiguous. I never had a problem, Miss and all. I suspect that had I been trolling, nothing would have stopped me or men on the prowl, a Ms. or nothing else.

[Lorianne]

Ditto. Tempest in a teapot.
What business is it of anyone in business if you are married or not? Do we care if a man is married? If we do and it's importnat, we simply ask "Are you married?". Job done.

Also, just because you're a Miss, doensn't mean you're "available", or available to everyone. If a woman wants it knowns she's "available" she has plenty of ways of making it known to the appropriate persons.

[iranger]

"This article is a joke, ridiculous and is insulting to women....."

You wouldn't fit in well with my rural kin. When my wife receives correspondence from her grandmother and great aunts, its addressed to Mrs. John Doe...you get the drift. They are salt of the earth type people...nary a scant of foolish pride.

[iranger]

"However, when a contractor who I have called and spoken to about getting an estimate for major work on MY house, is presumptuous enough to write me a letter telling me to make sure my husband can be present at the estimate appointment, or else I'll need to reschedule the appointment, I have no hesitation in "dismissing" that contractor from consideration for my business -- it's a safe bet that's not the only thing they'll be presumptuous about. Even if I WERE married, it would be between me and my husband whether we felt we both needed to be present to discuss the work and estimate."

My understanding is that it is now common practice among contractors to have both husband and wife present to avoid billing and payment problems. More than one contractor has had to take legal action to seek payment for services rendered. The bigger the bill, the more apt the contractor is to adhere to that practice. They aren't necessarily a bunch of sexist pigs. Further, single men living in houses by themselves often experience the same marital presumption. We are a country dominated by married folks after all. Its a good thing too, otherwise there wouldn't anyone here to complain about.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I understand that they need to get all owners of the house to sign the actual contract, but they should be careful about making assumptions as to who owns the house, and whether there's a pair of spouses involved. Sometimes there are other family members who are co-owners of a house (e.g. parents of a single or married adult), or only one spouse in a married couple actually owns the house (due to inheriting it, or other family reasons -- e.g. the home I grew up in with my married mother and father was owned only by my mother, because my father's first marriage ended in divorce with a stipulation that half his estate go to the two children of that marriage, and it would have been imprudent to leave my mother facing loss of the home after having very little money due to the years of child support payments my father made). What really irked me about this contractor was the attitude that they weren't going to waste a minute coming to give me an estimate, if everybody who'd need to sign a contract wasn't going to be present at that first meeting. It was a red flag for very high pressure sales tactics, and the "husband" thing was just part of that red flag -- NOBODY should be signing any contracts for major home improvements without gettting several estimates, and sleeping on them all before making a decision.

[iranger]

We all make assumptions every day. On my block there is not one house that is a single owner situation. Single people tend to live in apts, condos, & townhouses. If that contractor already has more business than he can shake a stick at, which is pretty much the case in the residential service industry, it only makes sense that he "not waste his time." To me, you seem overly sensitive.