Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Texas and housecleaners were always called maids, maid service, etc..i am actually shocked to hear this seems to be being interpreted as a offensive term in this region - i had no idea. Maybe there some history of the word I am ignorant of? To me it actually gives a professionalized title to the hard work that is done...

I also lived in Pakistan a few years where servant was used by all. Hated that, never could bring myself to say it.

This is interesting.

I am a Brit - though I have now lived in the US for several decades - and I don't know whether this still happens but there was a time when any communication from the British government to a citizen was always signed "your obedient servant" and no one thought anything about it. So if you received a communication from their equivalent of the IRS, it might demand money but it was signed "your obedient servant"!

It was not viewed as derogatory because the implication was that it was from an employee of the British government who was "serving" a citizen.

Like I said earlier, I don't know if this is a custom that is still followed.

I grew up in Texas and housecleaners were always called maids, maid service, etc..i am actually shocked to hear this seems to be being interpreted as a offensive term in this region - i had no idea. Maybe there some history of the word I am ignorant of? To me it actually gives a professionalized title to the hard work that is done...

I also lived in Pakistan a few years where servant was used by all. Hated that, never could bring myself to say it.

Anonymous wrote:

What difference does it make? What matters is how he and you treat the individual? You can call her the VP for cleaning but if you treat her like dirt does it make it any better or acceptable?

What matters is whether you treat the person with respect and consideration.

+ 1.

My cleaning lady refers to herself as the "Maid". I refer to her as "Larla". My kids refer to her as "Miss Larla". She has been working for 10 years for me and she is treated very well by me, AND she treats me very well as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Owner of housecleaning company here.

Really don't like the term maid and it is usually indicative of the type of customer we're dealing with.

I would wager that many companies use the word "maid" out of familiarity. BUT, calling someone a maid versus a company using the word in their name is different, IMO.

Ok. But you still haven't articulated why the word is offensive.

Np here. A lot of us think the word is demeaning, which is different than "offensive."

Maid is a shortened version of "maiden," ithe unmarried (and not-well-born) young lass who comes to do your dirty work.

It's like the country club member calling the teenage caddy "boy! Boy! Come here and get my XYZ !" Technically it's accurate -- maiden, boy -- but it's demeaning to call an adult woman doing paid work a "maid(en)" or a teen with a name "boy,!"

Southerners from the Deep South.

Anonymous wrote:My husband says maid and it drives me nuts. I'm sure he gets it from his father.

What difference does it make? What matters is how he and you treat the individual? You can call her the VP for cleaning but if you treat her like dirt does it make it any better or acceptable?

What matters is whether you treat the person with respect and consideration.

Anonymous wrote:Owner of housecleaning company here.

Really don't like the term maid and it is usually indicative of the type of customer we're dealing with.

I would wager that many companies use the word "maid" out of familiarity. BUT, calling someone a maid versus a company using the word in their name is different, IMO.

Ok. But you still haven't articulated why the word is offensive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up outside the US. We call them maids. But I don't call them maids when I'm in the US.

+1

I totally get it (and I live overseas, where lots of Americans say "maids"... feels weird to me) but at the same time remember a lot of others may not have English as a first language and it's just the way they translate. I guess what I'm saying is give them the benefit of the doubt esp if from another country as the same connotations may not exist.

Owner of housecleaning company here.

Really don't like the term maid and it is usually indicative of the type of customer we're dealing with.

I would wager that many companies use the word "maid" out of familiarity. BUT, calling someone a maid versus a company using the word in their name is different, IMO.

Anonymous wrote:Curious about this usage. Is it regional?

My maid is from the Midwest and she'd never do that

Can someone explain to me what is wrong with the term maid?

If it is so off-putting, why do so many local housecleaning companies use the term "maid"?

My husband says maid and it drives me nuts. I'm sure he gets it from his father.

Then why do they name companies like merry maids (don't ever use them BTW) or maid brigade or Molly maids etc etc?

No one around here refers to their house keeper as a maid! Makes are women who wear those black dresses with white doilies.

I grew up saying "cleaning lady", and my grandmother called her "the girl" (as in, "the girl is coming on Wednesday"). I now say "house cleaner", which I think I picked up from the dcum house cleaner AMA.