AIBU to think that Purplebricks don't actually need to know whether I'm married?

[borlottibeans]

All I want to do is book a fucking viewing!!!

The only options are Mr, Mrs, Miss or Dr. I was very tempted to put Dr but didn't want to have to keep explaining to people that I've faked a PhD out of spite.

Mr = adult Man
Mrs = adult Woman

I would love it if this were true (as I believe is the case with the equivalent titles in Germany and other places), but it really really isn’t.

I have always found Ms as very secretive, as in I dont want you to know whether or not I am married. Rather than using the catch all phrase of Mrs to mean woman rather than man.

Why is Ms secretive if it functions in the same way as Mrs (according to you)? The most you could say about it is that it’s redundant. If it is secretive, what information is it hiding that Mrs reveals?

I find it a weird thing to get worked up over. I got married in a public ceremony, it isn't a secret that I'm married so it isn't a big deal to choose Mrs from a list.

This is so fucking weird. Sorry but do people really think weve switched to a European system where -ina and -elle (and randomly now -iss) are young? I mean I like that system but its very clearly not English.

Ive been Ms since I was 15 years old and will be until I die. Anyone who doesnt have it on their drop-down can lose my business. Or I`ll shop at Harrods and be a Lady.

Surely you only have the choice of Miss or Ms? I mean I'd feel like it was fine to put Dr if you're viewing to get a feel for the market or have a nose, but if you were to like it and rent/buy it wouldn't it all come out in the credit checks/references?

Same with Mrs, they check your links and DG is fictional?

Ugh. DH. Sorry

Email them and ask them to add 'ms'

The rest of the chit chat just surmises too much time for very little issue.

I would show Purplebricks this thread - may draw them into the late 20th Century particularly as most businesses don't want the infamy of being recognised as sexist especially on a website like Mumsnet.

That is very unusual, most sites have a drop down list as long as your arm, Lady, Countess....

I opened a Royal Mail account the other day and even got the option of Mx

Just to echo PP, Mrs in the UK doesn't mean adult woman. It's not the equivalent of Frau or Madame, used for any woman out of her teens. That is Ms. Mrs only means married.

Does it really matter? I'm sure they don't care, they just need to address you as something. Most people have more to worry about.

I have only heard of Mrs suggesting 'adult woman' rather than 'married woman' in the context of Victorian (or earlier) novels where more senior female servants like housekeepers were given Mrs as a courtesy title whether or not they were married.

The word 'Madam' is used rather than 'Miss' when addressing an adult woman, of course, eg in a shop or restaurant, though I think this is dying out. It's ages since anyone called me 'Madam'!

If you don't use your husbands name then you're not Mrs suchnsuch so they really need a Ms option.

So if Mrs = adult woman, why such a big deal about changing name on marriage from miss x to mrs y?

Why doesn’t everyone 18+ use Mrs?

English dictionary definition:

Mrs. UK US

A1 a title used before the family name or full name of a married woman who has no other title:

There have been countless threads on here discussing miss vs. Mrs and marital status. The most recent being if divorcees are entitled to keep mrs.

This is the first time i have come across someone thinking it means adult woman, regardless of marital status. I really can’t see uni students and the like using mrs?

Mrs does not mean adult woman. It means you are married. 99.9% of people would assume Mrs = married whether you keep your surname or not. And I am supposedly a millennial!

Why on earth so we still have MRS?!? ...... Why do some women still use this is beyond me.... Why is it so important to daily life to reveal your marital status??!

I would prefer no titles.... How often (apart from schools) are people addressed as Mrs or Mrs

Why on earth do we still have Mrs? Because it's still free choice and some of us who are married want to be Mrs.
People who don't get married and then get outraged at the thought that somebody might think them married.

That would irritate me too and I’d politely point it out to them. I always choose Ms or if thats not available then Mr and then watch the ensuing confusion.

Why does nobody care if a man is married or not?

The Mr/Mrs/Miss tick boxes are archaic. It should be just Mr or Mrs for adults. Mx if you dont want to say (although I think thats odd).

I'd prefer Mx for everyone, so written correspondence can be polite and use your surname, without making assumptions about your sex and/or marital status.
Then when you actually meet the person you ask them what they prefer to be called.

I've always been a Ms, but nowadays if I knew how to pronounce Mx I think I'd go for that.

Mrs means married woman across Scotland - I’m pretty certain having lived in loads of different places.

I would prefer if there were only two options - Mr and Ms. If it’s not important to know men’s marital status, then why is it for woman? To be honest, why do we even need titles, unless you’re a Dr?

choccy yeah actually that sounds good, either that or no titles at all unless you’re s Dr etc.

I don't have an objection to titles per se. I don't want complete strangers addressing me by my first name, and it would be odd for them to call me by both names (in person rather than in writing). I'm happy with Mrs or Ms and in writing I'm happy with Dear first name surname.

When writing envelopes on eg Christmas cards, I do tend to use Mr and Mrs X for married couples (if the woman has changed her name). For unmarried couples, married couples where there was no name change, and singles, I use names but no titles. For elderly widows I tend to keep the Mrs as the only ones I know would be very unhappy if I dropped it.

Mrs does not mean adult woman

The Mr/Mrs/Miss tick boxes are archaic. It should be just Mr or Mrs for adults. Mx if you dont want to say (although I think thats odd).
*@unobtainable did you mean to say “it should just be Mr or Ms for adults or do you also agree with the PP who has this notion that all adult women should be called Mrs?

I agree with Fifthtimelucky, made me think of Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey. Which is not a good precedent as it carries with it the idea that unmarried women were less respectable.

I absolutely agree that it is hugely unfair that men do not have to reveal their marital status when specifying their title.
I was trying to think what the point of a title was, because if gender was relevant to whatever form you were filling in they could just ask that instead of using the title to denote it. And it’s not as if you can’t address the envelope of letter to just FirstName Surname without a title. However I suppose that titles are needed if you plan not to address someone by their first name, for reasons of politeness. So if it’s all about politeness it seems inconsistent not to give people a full range of titles to choose from.