What's an informal term to describe a female which isn't regarded as condescending/sexist?

@rckt148 might come off as sounding sarcastic though.

@Jm31xxx Tone matters. Often how something is said is infinitely more important that what.

@Jm31xxx I say Mam ,dear ,and young lady even when they are older
I call older men young man ,they smile
I only had one lady talk smack to me
she thinks me calling her dear is a sign of disrespect
but its not intended to be
Like Dear Sir /Mam
My dear love ,,I never heard anyone except her take it as disrespectful
and I have been saying that a long long time

@rckt148 unless you're very familiar with them, calling someone 'dear' is overly familiar and very cringe-worthy.

And 'young lady' comes over as very insincere and patronising. I've had guys here approach me using that term and it always comes across as creepy - like they're trying to take on a loving fatherly tone

@Salix75 Well Mam
I guess I have been blessed
Most ladies know I mean no harm and i have been calling ladies Mam or Dear since my 20's and as I said ,only one lady has said I offended her
Manybe its my southern charm ,,,🤗

@rckt148 could be...culture does play a part in it. As does one's generation and the context of the interaction of course

@rckt148 Also tone matters a lot. You can tell when it’s said insincere or not. Dear is awfully familiar term to use on someone you’re not familiar with but culture does make a difference quite a bit.

@DarkHeaven Yes Mam , as I said I have a souther accent ,raised a gentlemen
and I have no clue what it is ,they say its my spirit ,
but back men ,who have a hard look ,they see me they nod or they speak
always ,and most people have asked me "did you know him "? no never seen him before in my life .
he was acting all hard to everyone else and you walk up and he speaks to you
what gives ? I have no clue ,its been that way my whole life

Ladies know I mean them no disrespect
Black men and woman know I am not prejudice
and punks know I am not the one to play with

I have no clue what it is ,but I am thankful it works that way

@rckt148 If it works it works and I would bet if a lady took offense you would drop the word and never use it to her again as you sound like a true southern gentleman. ✌️