I have encountered all these same types of problems as a young female, but with a twist. I am a graduate assistant instructor (with an M.A. but not yet a Ph.D.) and I frequently have students call me Kristen, Professor E., Dr. E., and Mrs. E. These last three, I must add, are not correct. I am not a professor, I do not have my doctorate, and I am not married. The only one that really annoys me is when they assume that anyone old enough to teach their own college course must be married. I have nothing against marriage, and hope to be married one day, but I see this assumption as a sexist understanding of how the world works (or as an implicit critique of unmarried, professional women). I should add that I get this from male and female students alike. Only rarely do people call me Miss E., which is how I introduced myself on the first day of class. So, interestingly, in some ways I have the opposite problem...people want to call me Professor or Doctor even when I don't deserve the title. I must be teaching in upside-down land.
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Posted by Kristen to academicsecret at 10/04/2006 09:26:28 PM
