Madam

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Madam

Madam or Madame was a polite form of address for women on Earth (TV: Frontier in Space [+]Loading...["Frontier in Space (TV story)"], AUDIO: The Rise of the New Humans [+]Loading...["The Rise of the New Humans (audio story)"]) and Gallifrey. (TV: The Invasion of Time [+]Loading...["The Invasion of Time (TV story)"]) It was sometimes shortened to Ma'am, particularly when addressing one's commanding officer, (TV: Spearhead from Space [+]Loading...["Spearhead from Space (TV story)"], Planet of the Dead [+]Loading...["Planet of the Dead (TV story)"], The Wedding of River Song [+]Loading...["The Wedding of River Song (TV story)"]) or indeed Her Majesty the Queen. (TV: Tooth and Claw [+]Loading...["Tooth and Claw (TV story)"], The Beast Below [+]Loading...["The Beast Below (TV story)"])

When Vastra integrated into "polite Victorian society", (COMIC: The Lost Dimension [+]Loading...["The Lost Dimension (comic story)"]) she took up the title of Madame while living on Paternoster Row. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War [+]Loading...["A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)"])

A radar technician called a duty officer "ma'am". (TV: Spearhead from Space [+]Loading...["Spearhead from Space (TV story)"])

Within minutes of her regeneration, the Thirteenth Doctor questioned why Yasmin Khan called her "madam", unaccustomed to her new gender. When told it was because she was a woman, the Doctor asked if it suited her. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth [+]Loading...["The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)"]) She later expressed how strange it still felt to be called ma'am. (TV: Rosa [+]Loading...["Rosa (TV story)"])

In 1950s Alabama, it was considered impolite to speak to one's elders without addressing them as "ma'am" or "sir". Rosa Parks asked Ryan Sinclair if his mother "raised [him] with no manners" when he omitted the word from his response. (TV: Rosa [+]Loading...["Rosa (TV story)"])