A quick and non-weird question this week, for the females dopers on the board, specifically: if you were in command of a ship, would you prefer the rest of the crew to call you “Captain,”“Sir” or “Ma’am”? The only fictional female captains I can recall in recent memory (Captains Amelia and Janeway) both prefered “Ma’am” or “Captain,” and I didn’t want to rent “Cutthroat Island” again to find out what they called Geena Davis.
So, opinions, anyone?
Ranchoth
I’d prefer Captain, I think. I would hate sir, and ma’am just always reminds me of little old ladies.
Ranchoth,
When I was in the AIRTC, I preferred to be referred to by my rank (Sergeant). On the occasions that we assumed parade positions, I was the NCO in charge of my Flight, effectively making me a pretend officer. In that instance I would be referred to as “ma’am”, not my rank.
I would never refer to a superior officer by their rank - I would call them Sir or Ma’am, depending on their gender. Higher ranks could call me whatever they damn-well pleased, so long as Sergeant or my last name featured in there somewhere.
Soooooo in answer to your fictional question - I would prefer ma’am. I wouldn’t object if I was referred to as Captain by higher-ups. Nor would I care if they just referred to me by my last name. I personally wouldn’t care too much if subordinates called me Captain, but would suggest to them that as a matter of courtesy they should take it as standard practice to refer to higher-ups as Sir or Ma’am.
long-winded response over
Max 
Ma’am. I oppose the idea that the male honorific is in any way superior to its female equivalent.
Jess
“Sir?” I’m only aware of one female Captain that is routinely called “Sir” – Captain Janeway on Star Trek.
Is there some convention of calling a Captain “Sir” regardless of gender? Is this a Navy thing?
Individuals should be referred to by rank and last name. If the individual outranks you, use Sir or Ma’am depending on gender. I was never told to call all officers “Sir” regardless of gender, and I never saw anyone do it, not even the Navy personnel who frequently answered phones “May I help you, Sir or Ma’am?”.
Depending on your work center and military branch, it may be acceptable to use first names if the person of the same rank, less rank or within one or two ranks but not in your reporting chain. Mileage varies.
The only place I have noticed all officers called “sir”, regardless of gender, is science fiction or fantasy books, and then it was usually the truly annoying “Ser”.
I like being called Sir, but I’m weird. Captain is OK, but I think ma’am would bother me.
Make it so…
Anything but ma’am. Sir would be fine, Captain would be better, Lord High Ruler of All the World would be best.
I’m with jinwicked on this one. I think a hearty Yes Sir! would definitely make my day, but call me ma’am and you’re treading on thin ice.
Ma’am, of course.
Hmm – been reading James Tiptree, Jr? That’s the only place I’ve ever seen the honorific “ser”.
I guess I would prefer “Cap’n”, but I don’t think I would care too much one way or the other.
I’m pretty sure that in all the recent Star Trek series, not just Voyager, female officers were called “Sir”.
Yumanite,
Modesitt and Stasheff (I’ve probably screwed up the names, but the Recluse series and the stupid Warlock series), both used it. Others have as well, and it always annoys me.
Doesn’t matter, though. Females of higher ranks are referred to by rank or Ma’am, and, in the Air Force, we just ignored that there was no better way offered to call the collective besides Airmen, since Air Force members was also slightly masculine in a suggestive way.
I served under a female commanding officer while in the Navy. She was always addressed as Captain, that was her rank. When answering her questions, it was always yes maam or no maam. And calling a female officer sir would be cause for NJP (non judicial punishment). And the officer in charge of a ship is called Captain only if that is their rank. Call an admiral ‘captain’ and you would be keyholed on the yardarm.
I’d prefer to be called by my rank, and would object outright to “sir.” “Ma’am,” OTOH, is one of those double-edged swords: it makes me feel a little old hearing it, but it’s also acknowledging that I’m a female in charge. I guess I’d probably settle best with “miss/ms. [last name here]” in replacement of my rank and last name.
-Indigo-
??? She told Harry Kim in the pilot episode that she didn’t want to be addressed as “sir” despite Starfleet protocols.
I do recall Dr. Crusher being called “Sir” when she had to take over the bridge on time on TNG.
As for me, I’d prefer Captain or ma’am. Ma’am doesn’t bother me, because my students occasionally use it, though I never asked them to.
Dear lord, I am such a geek.
I worked with a Sergeant Major once who always called me “Captain Gelding, sir,” when ever he spoke to me. It drove me nuts. The guy was so correct that there was a feeling that he was mocking me. Others in the unit felt the same way. He also kept calling my wife “the Captain’s lady.” Thank God I did not have a dog so the stiff necked old soldier was spared inquiries about the state of health of “the Captain’s bitch.”
AFAIK, Captain, like most ranks, is genderless.
I have gotten points and KP, depending on inflection.
Always know where the line is with all the different people above you. If you don’t, you should not be in the military IMO.
*::see comment about KP ::: *
:smack:
No, It’s a Star Trek thing. The ideal society without any divisions between race or gender and so forth.
Petty Officer third class Stentor