Between living in Texas and living in South Carolina I did learn how to say ma'am like I mean it. I rarely encounter anyone who is offended, in fact I even use it to answer young female children, yes ma'am, no ma'am is the Texas way. Personally I think it's quaint and I have found it endears me two people when they realize it is simply a polite form or as the Japanese would say and honorific. Because I raised four daughters, I'm also in the habit of saying sweetheart but I think most of the younger women who know me realize that I only use this when speaking with them specifically and only while giving a kind and well considered answer. Generally to me when I preface a sentence with sweetheart, it means that I am about to answer as gently and kindly as I would answer my own young child. With this, yes I have offended some women and the truth be known I don't give a fucking shit. I raised four daughters to think and act for themselves. As they were growing I challenge them everyday by telling them they could not climb a tree they could not ride a bike or motorcycle and when they asked why, I would tell them, because you're a girl. It seems to be that now that they're grown they can do all of those things that I so often told them they could not. It seems to me that the older I get the less I care about what other people think. Hopefully I will not soon be like my children and do all the things that women tell me I should not. LOL

@Simply_Being Yes, exactly. I have been referred to as "sweetheart" when I was driving around in the south. "Hon" was used too. I never felt gilted nor offended. I felt the men who used those names for me were simply trying to be country gracious. I felt they were using it as a term of kind endearment. I can Tell the difference when someone is saying "sweetheart" in a kind way verses saying "Sweetheart" in a condescending way. It is a feeling. If you heed to your gut instinct, you CAN feel the difference. It is palpable because I Have had that used on me as a slight in the past. You do not mistake those words. But to just "blanket statement" everything and roll it together like one giant Bed of Insults is, in my opinion, total bullshit. Its just another easy way to say, "waa waa me me me me!" Getting PAST the Real Assholes that would say such things to us And Do mean to hurt us with those words, we need to be A Lot Stronger than this, and if we are always shrinking violets, buckling under the weight of something as benign as being called "hon" or "sweetheart," then we are fucked beyond reason! If we WANT to be taken serious here, we NEED to stop whinning about the little bits of minutia that total to just about zilch, other than misunderstanding and misinformation, and we Need to shed light upon the things that Are Real mistreatments of women and of womens rights. There Are things we Should be up in arms about, but pet names are NOT one of them. As a fellow woman in this world, I am disturbed by this recent trend of whinny, squeeky wheel syndrome. We have a myriad of battles we Still need to fight. Like the rights of women in third world countries. The things happening to women in Africa are unacceptable. Same of the women in the Middle East. Even in the jungles of Central America and in the countries of South America. Asian too. There are women who haven't even the right to defend themselves, verbally. No rights to drive. No rights to property, to ownership, period. No rights against husbands who have the Legal Right to kill them. Yet... here... in the United States, we WANT To talk Shit about pet names and the men who use them? I Do know and Believe women get way too much shit for being women. I Know we are paid less than our male counterparts. I Know we are disrespected in many-a-way that we've Yet to mention here. However, a pet name?? Instead, we go nuts if a guy says hello or a guy holds a door open for us or a guy uses a term of endearment toward us. Wtf?? Am i... totally insane here or... does this shit make about Zero sense?

@Sadoi, yass.... I'll bet you can guess how many times I have said "fuck you" to someone I just opened a door for? lol, my answer is," more than once." I have always supported gender equality, and I remember rejoicing at the beginnings of the feminist movement, ban the bra! (I was young, granted, yet still young enough, perhaps, that breasts still had a marvelous sway over me?) Sadly, my excitement was short-lived when much of the feminist movement was distracted by hateful misandrists who used feminism as a cover for their own insecurities. In defense of 60s feminists, I would say they eagerly embraced anyone who would support their cause, perhaps too eagerly, perhaps finally, pandering to the seeds of our modern day snowflake/ special flowers...
Of course this is all conjecture on my part, but I believe the founders of the movement practically took for granted that the majority of people had good sense. Sadly, such is no longer the case, and many people are merely left as the vestigial Shadows of those long ago forlorn children, destined to achieve great psychological damage because as infants they felt denied of the quality breast feeding time that is instrumental in forming well-rounded citizens. Heehehehe... I was not one of them, and I think you are not either. WInstead, we may be of that rare set that believes "only morons cannot do their own taxes", and that "my opinion won't change just because you don't like it". If this were a horoscope I would add, "Your biggest problem with people is - that they are idiots..."... You probably are thinking now that I am psychic, but no, I'm just a man that is eager to use demeaning terms of endearment on complete strangers as a Humanity acid test...

@Simply_Being I'm sitting in traffic reading your response and cracking up laughing! THANK YOU! I NEEDED to laugh today!

@Hellbent HAHAHAHA!! Oh... my comment? I wondered how many would find it offensive. After I hit send, I sat there for a minute and wondered, "Should I have sent that? Oh shitsticks I may piss some people off. Yeah! I Should have sent it because its How I Feel and someone with Tits and a Vagina needs to say it. If only MEN respond as i do, they will merely look like bully fucks, however, if a fellow female says it... yeah... that would have more impact." lol! Cannot live in a world full of regrets. At least I have the where-with-all to speak my mind, right? hee hee

@Sadoi thank you so much! I am proud to have been of service. As we become friends I believe you will come to know that I hold nothing sacred and there's not a reverent bone in my body. There is a reference bone, but we only use it for reference. By we, I mean other people...

@Hellbent Excelsoir!

@Simply_Being HAAAHAAA!! Hey, laughter and learning are of Top Priority in my life so Bring it ooooon brotha!!! I wait with baited breath!

@Simply_Being I Like You!!

@Sadoi wow... Too many rules kill the romance... Unless and until all you are interested is in a dead duck sex.

Hey, I like the way you think. Don't they say "good things come in small packages." Let's see if you get offended by that.

@Srijith hahaha! Absofuckinglutely not! Hey, yoda was small... I used to hate how tiny I was growing up. I felt as though i'd NEVER be "Tall Enough" to be considered a "Real Adult" hahaha but alas, these days, I love being small! I never have to worry i will be taller than my boy friend and im small enough to fit just about anywhere! people underestimate us lil people, but that can be used to my shrimp-like advantage! Plus, people seem to believe tiny thing are "adorable." Again, another tool in my arsenal to use in the case of an emergency. haha!

okay, i can see how Son or boy could backfire on a man.

yes its a real put down

ooh like in the south when they say behind your back, "oh isn't that/she precious...?" you KNOW, at that moment, what they Really Mean about you! haha

Well, bless your heart, @Sadoi

@stinkeye_a YES! YESSS! that is the ONE!! haha! I picked the incorrect condescending saying! hahahaha!!!!

hahaha Ma'am! wow! Ma'am seems to be the Most hated word here! I have yet to be referred to as Ma'am... but... dang if i do, should i be all... shooting daggers like some Transformer at War or... what??

HAAAHAA HAA!! "hey sport, come grab this biscuit on the floor!" "hey snowball! hows it going?" "hey Sox, what ya doing over there?" "Fido!! Looking Good!!"

That's exactly what I thought when I read the title: names for pets. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

HAAAHAAAAA!!! This made me cry, i laughed so hard!

I would just say, "whats your IQ sport?? and I DONT KNOW WHAT IM Talking about? Whatever you say Jock-o!"

Well, when my late wife wasn’t trying to throw things at my head and was feeling amorous, she called me Raunchy Rob. My pet name for her can’t be shared on a public forum. @witchymom