Ms, Mrs,Miss

Mrs can be pronounced easily by all - unlike Ms - which can sound dreadful.
I refuse to make a big deal out of trivialities- we need to save it for what matters.
I keep saying that I have no problem with women choosing it and will use it if they wish. My problem is the same as I always have- people making a decision and thinking it should be for everyone.
If I accept your choice I can't see why I can't have the same courtesy. I can't see why I have to justify it either.
I like Mrs, I chose Mrs, I remain Mrs and that should be enough for anyone.

In this context - such as?

I'm don't have real freedom of choice until I have the same freedoms that men automatically have.

No, it doesn't matter what others are doing - not when it comes to something as trivial as this. So Ms is thought by 'many' - so what? 'Many' don't think that - it's just a title, and one I really can't get my knickers in a twist over. If some women choose to demonstrate their relationship to their husband by using a particular then that's up to them - no-one is forcing you to. Freedom of choice is a wonderful thing.

If we're going to move on this, I'd back no titles at all. I really couldn't care less if someone is Dr, Mr, Lady, Rev or any of the other titles we choose to bestow on people (outside the workplace where it might actually matter).

I'm still Mrs as well, I've never changed it because I haven't changed my name back so it'd seem odd to use Miss with a surname that wasn't mine. To complicate things, I was married although not to the person whose surname that I have. I do sometimes wonder about changing Mrs but Miss seems a bit when you are in your 50s.

But it does matter what others are doing. That's evidently why in the UK, Ms is thought by many only to apply to divorced women. It just reinforces this societal proclivity to identify women in terms of their relationship to men.

We could get rid of titles altogether and the problem is solved

This

I don't want to change one system by being told what to do by others

And this.

Here's the thing. Pick Ms if that's what you want and stop trying to impose your will on others or worrying about what others are doing.

Mehitabel, you dislike Ms for the sound, okay.

so, out of interest, why did you pick Mrs?

We could do away with them. I'm not sure why you are so attached to Mrs. You say it didn't mean you were married but it's purpose is to show a woman is , or was married.

So far as "Ms" apparently meaning a woman is divorced in my experience I've never knowingly met any divorcé who did that. Quite the opposite, most keep the Mrs His Name. Which seems weird to me. The reason is usually it's too difficult to change - it can't be any more difficult than it was the first time nor than getting divorced.

We could get rid of titles altogether and the problem is solved!

I am not stopping anyone!
I don't want to change one system by being told what to do by others.
Live and let live. It isn't important. I save my battles for things that I think important. I rarely use a title anyway. Can't think when I last did.

Why make changes?
To move away from a sexist setting.

If we do why not just go for the equivalent and all have Mrs or all have Miss?
that option works in another languages as it has already been mentioned in this thread (madam in french). In english afaik ms is the neutral female title and it is used as such in another countries. From a practical point of view it is easier to converge to a point that is already working (even though only partialy in the uk) than to reinvent the wheel iykwim.

Not odd. Why make changes? If we do why not just go for the equivalent and all have Mrs or all have Miss? Why have a new one that people mispronounce? ( if you say they don't you obviously haven't heard children say Ms!)

Mehitabel, so you would object if, for the purpose of gender, titles were only Mr or Ms? If that's correct, may I ask why you would object?

Do you find it odd that men haven't asked for the equivalent of Miss or Mrs?

I think that you totally misunderstand me. Mrs, Miss, Ms is not an issue. I couldn't care less who knows my marital status and it doesn't tell them that because I was Mrs when not married anyway.
It is a huge issue that people should tell me which I must use.

in fairness to the organisations, I don't think they are trying to define anyone by marital status. I think that's what they think their female customers want.

Also, the majority of programmers are men, and some of them are not terribly enlightened when it comes to equality and diversity and will never have questioned whether they needed to make any further changes beyond including Miss, Mrs, Ms as well as Mr & Dr.

I have no objection at all to anyone changing their title and using Ms and I will comply.
I have every objection to them choosing my title.
I shall continue with Mrs.
We have free choice and I shall use it.

Mehitabel, if you can't see that it matters, then logically you would have no objection if Ms, or any other term, was used as a blanket replacement so forms just had Mr or Ms, right? Because it doesn't matter, in your words, is exactly why you should be okay with it?

We will just have to agree to differ. I really think it very unimportant and not a critical step in equality. I can't see that it matters.

A school friend of mine over 35 years' ago realised walking down the aisle she was making a mistake. She and her husband never lived together, there are no children and they divorced as soon as they could after the 2 years were up.

She still calls herself Mrs His Name. I do not understand why. I occasionally wondered what he thought of it.

Mehitabel, I agree we are all entitled to our view.but I disagree that these are just "ideas". They are more than that. The "idea" that men are called Mr, which in no way indicates marital status, should also translate to the idea that women should have a title which in no way indicates marital status.

To me it's not just an idea, it is a critical step towards a gender equality. Yes I do have friends who call themselves Mrs and I've never argued with them about it because I respect their point of view. But if I ran the world, Mrs and Miss would be in the bin. We could do away with Miss and Master as well unless there's a particular need to note that someone is under sixteen.

There is no chance of me running the world though

I don't know why you have to see it. People have different ideas. You are entitled to yours and there is no reason why I have to see it.
I am not arguing. I will call you Ms if that is what you want. I am Mrs.