# Don't call us "ladies"! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 23, 2025, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223 "2025-07-23T15:22:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/21 "2025-07-23T20:38:48Z")
Madies and gebbamins ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/22 "2025-07-23T20:39:52Z")
To self: Susan, take your hands off the keyboard! Do not answer the question! You will only receive a warning. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/23 "2025-07-23T20:50:28Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > or Guys. I prefer “You-uns”. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/24 "2025-07-23T21:04:25Z")
Either New Hampshire is weird, or the US South is weird. I have an uneasy feeling which you guys and, er, females will pick. But I digress. Outside grocery store in NH, I stopped to let to lad…women enter before me, and politely smiled, as my Mother from Tennessee had taught me. They turned and ran. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/25 "2025-07-23T22:31:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > “Good afternoon.” That’s saying that _you shouldn’t address them at all._ Just talk about them indirectly, instead of _to_ them. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/26 "2025-07-24T01:20:09Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > His tombstone will say “post hoc ergo propter hoc”. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > 27 dopers in the room, anybody know “post hoc, ergo propter hoc”? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HL_vHDjG5Wk/hqdefault.jpg "Post hoc, ergo propter hoc") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL_vHDjG5Wk) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/27 "2025-07-24T01:48:43Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > > > “Good afternoon.” > > That’s saying that _you shouldn’t address them at all._ Just talk about them indirectly, instead of _to_ them. No it isn’t. “Good afternoon” isn’t talking about them (or for that matter about the afternoon); it’s a greeting, just as much as “ladies and gentlemen” is. Do you think that saying “goodbye” to somebody is talking about them? And it’s a greeting which works for people of any gender. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/28 "2025-07-24T01:55:54Z")
From Tom Stoppard’s _Travesties_: > CARR: I took to drinking hock and seltzer for my nerves at a time when nerves were fashionable in good society. This season it is trenchfoot, but I drink it regardless because I feel much better after it. > > TZARA: You might have felt much better anyway. > > CARR: No, no—post hock, propter hock. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/29 "2025-07-24T02:17:35Z")
Mah Peeps! ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/30 "2025-07-24T02:26:06Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > 27 dopers in the room, anybody know “post hoc, ergo propter hoc”? I understood that reference. “Uh, uh, post, after, after hoc, ergo, therefore, after hoc, therefore, something else hoc.” ETA: Ninja’d. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/31 "2025-07-24T02:58:37Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Well, how do you formally address a group of women? Madams? Y’all? > “Ladies,” Perrone wrote in an email to school officials amid contract negotiations. “Good evening! I perused the contract and have three requests.” He went on to ask for annual salary increases, additional vacation days, and additional sick days. The requests amounted to 70 days, or 14 weeks, of paid time off for his first year on the job, and fewer in subsequent years. How about this: > ~~“Ladies,” Perrone wrote in an email to school officials amid contract negotiations.~~ “Good evening! I perused the contract and have three requests.” He went on to ask for annual salary increases, additional vacation days, and additional sick days. The requests amounted to 70 days, or 14 weeks, of paid time off for his first year on the job, and fewer in subsequent years. Easy peasey. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/32 "2025-07-24T03:02:21Z")
“Dear Members of the Selection Committee,” “Dear Dr. X [if there’s a chair] and Members of the Selection Committee,” “Dear Octavia Googolplex and Members of the Selection Committee,” ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/33 "2025-07-24T03:11:38Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > No it isn’t. “Good afternoon” isn’t talking about them (or for that matter about the afternoon); it’s a greeting, just as much as “ladies and gentlemen” is. Not really. In this context _the entire point_ of using that phrase is to avoid any direct reference to them. The point is to avoid personally addressing them and essentially talk to the air, as if you were recording a message to be played to persons unknown later. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/34 "2025-07-24T12:10:42Z")
**[Dear Committee Members](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19288259-dear-committee-members)** ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/35 "2025-07-24T12:22:29Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > this context _the entire point_ of using that phrase is to avoid any direct reference to them. I have absolutely no idea what you’re on about. If somebody told me they were offended by my using “good afternoon” as a salutation, either in person or via email, I’d be pretty sure they were fucking with me. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/36 "2025-07-24T12:56:44Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Not really. In this context _the entire point_ of using that phrase is to avoid any direct reference to them. The point is to avoid personally addressing them and essentially talk to the air, as if you were recording a message to be played to persons unknown later I disagree with that. The point of using that phrase may be to include everybody, of whatever gender; or it may simply be the greeting phrase the speaker ordinarily uses. It certainly isn’t to avoid addressing the group, any more than not reciting all their individual names is to avoid addressing the members of the group. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/37 "2025-07-24T13:26:15Z")
How about the ghost of Jerry Lewis-- [does he get a pass](https://youtu.be/DvxLml0RzD0)? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/38 "2025-07-24T14:11:56Z")
Or the ghost of Groucho Marx: > Ladies and gentlemen…I suppose that takes in most of you… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/39 "2025-07-24T18:04:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > If somebody told me they were offended by my using “good afternoon” as a salutation, either in person or via email, I’d be pretty sure they were fucking with me. And if someone told me they were offended by “ladies”, I feel the same. And, the point _in this context_ of using “good afternoon” _isn’t_ to offer a salutation, it’s to avoid directly referring to the women in question at all. Out of fear of causing offense, because apparently _any_ term that refers to them is somehow “insulting”. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223/40 "2025-07-24T18:51:18Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And if someone told me they were offended by “ladies”, I feel the same Depends significantly on the context. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And, the point _in this context_ of using “good afternoon” _isn’t_ to offer a salutation, it’s to avoid directly referring to the women in question at all. In the context of this insistence that nobody could possibly address a group of women by starting off with “Good afternoon” unless they were trying to avoid referring to the women – in that specific context, I’m finding your insistence on referring to their gender to be disturbing. I’m not offended by “ladies and gentlemen” to start off a relatively formal address; I’d just find it a bit old fashioned, and wonder if there were any nonbinaries in the audience. But somehow finding offense in “good afternoon”, as you seem determined to do, is another matter altogether. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-call-us-ladies/1021223.md?page=3)