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This entry almost failed to make it here, for tl;d(w)r syndrome
The short version:
Re: That quote I posted from William Penn, the other day:
You know, when I moved here, 13 years ago, the neighborhood was full of little kids (now, all grown up, heh). And my Quaker-raised self got kind of creeped out by how strictly they were taught the "Propriety of Speech by Heart" -- all those "Yes Sirs" and "No Ma'ams" (trans: "Sire," and "Madam") -- the hierarchy of speach that let everyone know their Proper Place in the Proper Social Order. I was especially discomfited when they called me "Miss Ann;" I warrented the deferential "Mistress," in their eyes (and their parents' eyes) because I was older than they were. And yet, my single marital status meant that I wasn't quite an adult, and could still be addressed by my "Christian" name.
It still raises my hackles when filling out online forms (to join mailing lists, and the like) when my application is rejected because I failed to choose a "Title" for myself (Mister, Ms., Mrs., Dr., etc). Why to I have to pigeonhole myself by rank and gender in order to join a volunteer organization, or get a damned seed catalog? Why can't I opt out of giving myself a title?
Re: That quote I posted from William Penn, the other day:
(quote)
Children had rather be making of Tools and Instruments of Play; Shaping, Drawing, Framing, and Building, &c. than getting some Rules of Propriety of Speech by Heart: And those also would follow with more Judgment, and less Trouble and Time.
(unquote)
You know, when I moved here, 13 years ago, the neighborhood was full of little kids (now, all grown up, heh). And my Quaker-raised self got kind of creeped out by how strictly they were taught the "Propriety of Speech by Heart" -- all those "Yes Sirs" and "No Ma'ams" (trans: "Sire," and "Madam") -- the hierarchy of speach that let everyone know their Proper Place in the Proper Social Order. I was especially discomfited when they called me "Miss Ann;" I warrented the deferential "Mistress," in their eyes (and their parents' eyes) because I was older than they were. And yet, my single marital status meant that I wasn't quite an adult, and could still be addressed by my "Christian" name.
It still raises my hackles when filling out online forms (to join mailing lists, and the like) when my application is rejected because I failed to choose a "Title" for myself (Mister, Ms., Mrs., Dr., etc). Why to I have to pigeonhole myself by rank and gender in order to join a volunteer organization, or get a damned seed catalog? Why can't I opt out of giving myself a title?