Using 'Mrs'

[Booboobedoo]

This is something I've been pondering for a while, and now I'm posting on here to garner opinion.

I'm sure I can't be the first to suggest this, but would it not be a logical step to start addressing women as 'Mrs' as soon as they are adults, in the same way that men become 'Mr'?

It would render 'Ms' unnecessary.

Ultimately I suppose I'd prefer all titles to be done away with altogether, but I'm not sure the world is ready 😁.

Any thoughts? Any obvious reason why not?

Anyone?

[BertrandRussell]

Why? Why not Ms?

[MilkTwoSugarsThanks]

The most obvious reason why not is that you would be taking away a woman's right to choose.

I'm sure any woman who wanted to use Mrs is already at liberty to do so?

[Hulababy]

I think this often happened in the past although not immediately on being an adult. But certainly many unmarried older woman took the title of Mrs.

Or why not just stick with Miss and not change at all?
Do people ever use Master these days for males under 18?

I personally don't like Ms as it isn't an actual word, just a blend of two sounds.

[Lessthanaballpark]

Men don't become Mr when they get older. They are born that way. DS has had the title of mr ever since childhood.

We on the other hand have to search through Miss, Mrs and Ms and decide wtf we are (not always an easy task ).

It should be Mr and Ms. No messing, thinking or unnecessary complication. IMO.

[msrisotto]

Hmm, didn't boys used to be Master, before Mr?

[pullingmyhairout1]

I'm not married though, so therefore am not 'Mrs' anything, and my Mum is 'Mrs F-W'

[BertrandRussell]

It's taken aeons to reach the point where Ms has the pretty limited acceptability and understanding it has now-how long do you think it would take to change the meaning of Mrs?

[Booboobedoo]

I suppose Mrs because it's easier to say than Ms!

Arbitrary, I'll give you that, but as good a reason as any.

Boys are 'master', aren't they, until they 'fledge'.

Agreed, probably best to drop that too.

[Booboobedoo]

A woman I used to work for had her request for a CRB request sent back to her because she hadn't supplied the divorce papers to prove that she was a Ms.

That is the way that organisation viewed 'Ms'.

Bloody infuriating, I know, but 'Mr' means adult male to everyone.

'Mrs' should just mean adult female.

Clear, simple, unambiguous.

I suppose if all women had adopted 'Ms' then I wouldn't see the need for this.

But they haven't.

[BertrandRussell]

"I suppose Mrs because it's easier to say than Ms!"

This is a thing I really, really don't get. It's perfectly easy to say Ms. Unless you put virtual air quotes round it like lots of arseholes do. That makes it tricky.

And to be a tedious pedant, Ms has actually been around as long as Mrs has- it just lost out to Mrs and Miss until the beginning of the 20th century, when it started to come into use again.

[Lessthanaballpark]

Oh yeah risotto you're right. Boys go from master to mister

But when? Do they automatically switch at 18? If so then an automatic Miss to Mrs is the logical fair step.

Plus yes it would be a good to have a firmer marker of adulthood for women seeing as we tend to stay "girls" forever.

[Lessthanaballpark]

Really Bertrand? So it's not recently made up? Tell us more!

[BertrandRussell]

When did anyone last use Master? Seriously? I am very old, and I think I might have used it a couple of times in an old fogeyish jocular way on birthday cards to nephews........

[PacificDogwod]

I agree with you - Mr and Mrs for adults it should be - but am happy for individual women to choose Ms if they wish.

I now regularly use Ms in formal letters in my job when I am replying to somebody who only gave they name (not title) in the request sent to me.

[Booboobedoo]

Bertrand, I didn't know that, thank you! I'm a bit of a word history geek, and will file that one away to bore someone with later.

However, being pragmatic, Mrs is much more widely used, and so it seems to me that aiming to enlarge its meaning to encompass all women would be a simpler - and probably more effective - campaign.

[PacificDogwod]

What does Ms. stand for?
You know, like Mr is for Mister and Mrs is for Missus?

[PacificDogwod]

And why is there an r is Mrs??

I am now officially over invested

[MilkTwoSugarsThanks]

Bertrand - my mum used to for DS, up until a couple of years ago when he hit double figures. She's in her 70s. It's never been on any of his official documents though - and it's never available in any drop down menu anywhere.

[BertrandRussell]

But Mrs has such an entrenched and unambiguous meaning. How on earth are you going to change it?

Pragmatically, the only possible option is a proper push for Ms. It's worked in the public sphere in the States.

[Sprink]

Medical letters and bank account correspondence for my young so safe always addressed Master.

[Sprink]

*for my young sons are always addressed

Fuck's sake, Sprink.

[DrinkFeckArseGirls]

I had my DBS done few weeks back, ai definitely put in 'Ms' and it was no problem. When did that happen to your colleague, OP?

[DrinkFeckArseGirls]

My GO surgery addresses my DD's letters 'Ms'. She's 6. I like that.

[Sprink]

PacificDogwood, I believe the 'r' in Mrs comes from the 'r' in Mistress, as in Mistress of the house (aka wife).

[PacificDogwod]

But Mrs has such an entrenched and unambiguous meaning.

Maybe we need to reclaim Mrs? Like cunt??


I lived in the States in my late teens/early 20s and Ms was used rather a lot for (usually young) women. I always felt it was a bit ?forced ?deliberate ?'fake'. I dunno. I never particularly likes it.

There was a feminist magazine called Ms., I think.