I never understood this cause I’m a dude and was elated the first time I was called “sir”
Not universal. I don’t like being called sir by my coworkers. I’m in what may be considered a higher position (Esc/tier 3), but I have no management powers or anything, just worked at this company longer. Plus one of the ones who said it was only a few years younger than me.
I get the ma’am thing but 8.50
I best the fast food was actually fast too…
I have heard so many times “enjoy your youth” or “how it was much better when I was young” from people. But once I hit 30, I’d say my best life only began. No chores in this world will be as bad as not being in control of my own life.
Fuck being young. I had my fun. Now I have my new adult fun that is even better than teen fun. I can do whatever I want (provided abilities and financial capability) and noone can tell me to stop doing it.
There was something cool about my 20’s, moving cities, making new friends, dating around, picking up new hobbies and interests. I always had roommates, because it always made more financial sense, but that also had the side effect of having a wider social circle. It was fun and exciting.
But 30-40 was probably my peak fun. I started coasting at work, but was senior/respected enough that I could just mostly be left alone. At work and socially and just out in the world, people took me seriously to where I felt less social pressure, and could prioritize the things that were important to me rather than to other people. That social freedom was pretty liberating. And it didn’t hurt that I was making better money than in my 20’s, especially when accounting for the dual income when I got into a long term committed monogamous relationship in my early 30’s.
So with that newfound social freedom and increased financial and career flexibility, I shifted to a slightly different style of having fun with friends, valuing closeness and time together rather than just a packed agenda of action items each time we got together. We could do weekend trips somewhere around a particular activity (skiing, lounging at a beach, distillery tours), but really building closeness with things like couch/patio time between planned meals or activities.
My 40’s are a different kind of fun, maybe more responsibility, a few more body aches and pains, a few health scares, lots more parenting responsibilities, a little more helping my own parents responsibilities, dealing with more external world nonsense in 2026 compared to 2016, but overall I’m still doing fine on the fun front. My 30’s were the best, though.
Ma’am and Sir them all, let them sort themselves out.
I know the feeling. I always hated being called “sir” when I “don’t look my age. Have barely changed. Am in good health”.
Then I looked in the mirror.
Then I started making a list for my new doctor.
When did people start thinking respect is an insult. We seriously need to dump our youth obsessed culture.
It’s not about this being an insult. It’s about the sudden realization that one has become a grown-up / “old” as in not being a child anymore
People really get in their heads about this being because they’re aging but really it’s just because you’re not a child and you’re talking to a person at their job who is being polite to you.
People expect themselves to be children until the world proves them wrong.
“Inside every old person is a young person wondering what happened.” -Terry Pratchett
That explains Trump
Before I read your comment I honestly thought it was a trans woman coming to the realization she was passing without even trying. Did think the expression in the last panel was a bit odd XD
Or you live anywhere in the south and are a woman
As a southerner, sir and ma’am are used regardless of age. My little sister has always been ma’am. Its a respect thing. People that get bent put of shape take things too seriously
It’s not about the respect aspect of it though. And not everywhere is the South.
It’s the massive gut punch that comes from being recognized as “old” by your community. Wouldn’t even consider it “getting bent out of shape”.
Fair. However, everywhere in the US the service industry, military, and general phone etiquette (which is a dying thing) demands the standard colloquial terms of respect that are “sir and ma’am”.
A previous commenter mentioned that the societal obsession with youth is a problem. I would go further and say that it is a larger problem than how people attempt to show others respect.
I mean, the post is a fairly unserious comic. Seems to me this is a mountain/molehill situation.
Edited because my comment got chopped up, sorry.
Well I wasn’t planning on continuing the conversation/molehill past the initial comment…
Well I appreciate the discussion regardless.
I once had a supermarket cashier apply a senior citizen discount to my transaction without prompting. I mean, I’m not young but I’d like to think I don’t look like a senior citizen just yet.
In my later days of working at a supermarket, knowing I was going to imminently give my two weeks, I used to apply all sorts of discounts to people. “You get a senior discount”, “You get a student discount”, “You get bonus points”, “I can’t tell if these are the organic tomatoes so I’ll just charge for the cheaper ones”, etc.
On my last day, I loaded up the savings card of my last customer with bonus gas points equivalent of having spent $1000 in groceries (basically just $1 off per gallon of gas). Curious to know if I ended up causing a stir after leaving, I asked a friend of mine who still worked there if anyone made a fuss. No one ever noticed or complained.
The store probably loses an order of magnitude more each day just on the amount of expired food they throw away. Yet the corporate propaganda wants their employees to feel like they just robbed a bank if you so much as scan a coupon that the customer didn’t bring with them.
Thank you for your service. Every little bit counts :)
The hero/heroine we all want but do not deserve
I spent my 20s next to a booze store where this old lady worked who LOVED me for some reason and would give me and anyone I was with the senior discount all the time. Then she got in trouble and had to stop. Then she stopped giving a fuck and did it anyway, despite me and my friends telling her not to.
I hope she’s still around and still a fuckin G
Discount though, nice. Hopefully you didn’t say anything :p.
Oh, no complaints from me.
Wait… This is a big deal?
As a transwoman, it is to me.
The other women in my life are fairly used to being called ma’am though, regardless of age
Wait, is that the context of the comic. I thought it was like an age thing, which is pretty silly to me because where I grew up, sir/ma’am was a politeness thing and we would use it all the time in customer service. I definitely wasn’t surprised when I got called Sir when I was already old enough to drive.
Yeah, but in this case I think it has to do with age. But… I don’t know… I thought any hospitality service, even just fast food delivery, “sir” and “ma’am” is just politeness or etiquette.
I guess in some places it’s not.
I have two feelings about this:
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This is why I call everyone “boss/captain” when I can
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Having lived in the US South, this wouldn’t even register for me because EVERYONE who looks 16+ gets called sir/ma’am by everyone else. Hell, I’ve seen the usage extended to kiddos to teach them universal respect through example, too.
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Many men will remember the first bit of mail they received with Mr <Surname> on it and it wasn’t for their father, but I also remember being cut to the core being referred to as the subject of “watch out for that man” as a child escaped its parent and barrelled obliviously in my direction. To them I was merely an NPC.
My thoughts were along the lines of ’ “That man”?! Me?! Well… I suppose so. But, “man”? What? No. I’m just me. ’
I mean, I’m sure as heck not a woman, nor am I non-binary, but “man” is way too strong a term. “Adult male human” doesn’t even feel right, because much of the time I’m who I was at 7 years of age, just in a shell that’s 7 times that age.
But er, maybe that’s just me.
That’s so real.
I can’t be a man, I’m just a guy
I dunno, I’ve been called sir since I graduated high school basically. It wasn’t a crazy “I’m getting old” moment at all.
It’s different for women. “Miss” implies youthfulness but can also be used as a snide way of implying nobody wants to marry her, whereas “ma’am” implies deference on the part of the speaker but can also be used cruelly to imply she’s old and matronly. There’s basically no situation for a woman in which something neutral or positive can’t also be used as a way of making a dig at her for not being as good as a theoretical ideal woman.
Yes mistress
Ahh, I suppose that’s true. I’ve always throught it was weird that women have miss/ma’am instead of just ma’am, so I forget that miss exists haha.
Yeah I was taught only to call someone “Miss” if she is 100% confirmed single otherwise it’s an insult. So I never use it.
I didn’t know “Ma’am” was an insult for old people.
Yeah I never felt that either but that’s probably because my mom called me miss ma’am a lot growing up.
I was at the airport going through security several years ago and there was this gal in front of me, probably out in her early twenties. She was dressed in quite a glamorous way and clearly took pride in her appearance. Seemed like a nice enough person too. For reference I was probably old enough to be her father.
As she’s walking away I realized she had left her hand bag or some other personal item. I called out to her but for some reason I had a brainfart and said “excuse me ma’am” instead of “excuse me miss”.
She didn’t my seem to notice my faux pas and was appreciative that I had let her know. But I sometimes wonder if after she walked away this was her “oh fuck, I’m a ma’am?!” moment. Which was definitely not my intention.
I think ma’am is a better default for strangers. It’s the best female equivalent available for sir. Miss sounds patronizing unless you are using it in place of Mrs.
Huh, I hadn’t thought about it like that. But that makes me feel a bit better about that situation!
I find it increasingly funny that I’m late 30s and people still guess I’m in my early 20s. I’ve tried most of my life trying to look older (it helps in academia) and if it wasn’t for “Dr.” behind my name I think I’d have a hard time getting people to take me seriously.
Although to be fair they probably shouldn’t take me too seriously, lol.
