Sorry, but if there is something that can be considered “insulting”, this should be the use of “Miss/Sinjurina”, which in my own country (Austria) has been limited to schoolgirls (What’s the fuss, Carl Abela, TMID 15 October).

Well, here in Greece I can even be grateful when they address my as a despinis meaning Miss, as it’s still better than the all-too-usual – and most inappropriate for a woman of almost 40 – “girl”, but this is another story.

In everyday life my marital status is nobody’s business. In your opinion, if I never

enter a relationship, I’m worth less and deserve to be addressed by a diminutive, or what? No, I am not “of a particular sexual nature” (what is this supposed to mean?) and don’t “belong to a ‘woman’s rights’ organisation”.

I simply see myself as an individual and not as half a (potential) pair and I don’t define myself by the presence or the absence of a man.

Maria Ferstl

Greece