> There are too many women who will (rightly in my view) take offense at being titled Miss or Mrs. — so using such titles is only "appropriate" if you are delib

> There are too many women who will (rightly in my view) take offense at being titled Miss or Mrs. — so using such titles is only "appropriate" if you are deliberately trying to anger some portion of the population. I still say sir, mam, mister, and miss (Mrs is generally considered unneeded and overly formal) because I come from a culture that finds them not only to be appropriate but pretty standard, especially when dealing with strangers. You find that declaring them universally acceptable is wrong, but if you came to my state you'd also be equally wrong, and maybe rude. I do understand that peoples attitudes over generations will change about words. That seems to be the natural evolution of languages, but it also seems we've never overtly adopted a system that deprecates language outside of outrage, which seems inappropriate in itself if you're getting angry with someone who is going out of their way, in their mind, to treat you with respect.