To think its time to get rid of personal titles ie. Miss, Mrs, Ms?

[jumpingbean1810]

I was ordering something in a shop the other day and the assistant, in her 20s, was putting my details into their system. She said, I hate asking this, I find it so embarrassing but are you Miss, Ms or Mrs? I replied I'm Miss. I was there with my daughter so in that one exchange I'd divulged I was a single, unmarried parent. It's not information the shop needs for me to order a lamp. And if I was a man, they'd be Mr and none the wiser as to marital status. I know I could say Ms but does any married woman really use Ms? So Ms just ends up sounding like a Miss with issues. It got me thinking why do we need personal titles, how often are they really used anyway? Can they not just be scrapped from form filling? With the increasing desire by the younger generation to not even be defined by gender, identifying women by their marital status feels so outdated. It's international women's day tomorrow and in the spirit of embracing equity, isn't it time we abolished women being defined by marital status?

No, it's not socially unacceptable as many, many, many women (the majority actually) still want to do it

Funny one isn't it, the more you think about it the more complicated it gets!

Why does it matter? No it's not obvious in emails and letters. But Katyrosebug wants to use Mrs. She doesn't have to. She has a choice. She could use Ms and then people wouldnt know. But she's chosen to use Mrs. And that's ok.

I don't subscribe to to current gender theory. A biological male is not a woman and never will be.

But other changes are valid. There is no justification why the marital status of a woman should be disclosed by way of a title but not a man. Its simply misogyny and has no place in either the workplace or society as a whole.

Off topic I know but it’d be really interesting to compare the arguments put forward in this thread on why some women are really keen on sharing their marital status on forms, email signatures etc, and why some people are really keen on sharing their preferred pronouns. And also why others aren’t and see sharing one or both of these as unnecessary.

Because the female honorifics are linked to marital status and because some people hold negative associations with women being either single or divorced, which in itself is problematic, some people are more comfortable not thinking about it too much and choosing to nail their flag to the Mrs mast, where they are free from question or aspersion.

Which I think is a shame, and wouldn't it be nice if belonging to a man didn't come into it, when it came to your title.

Those will be banned soon if some of these loony 'activists' have their way

My husband would find it amusing the suggestion that I belonged to him because I chose to be a Mrs. As would the rest of my family and friends

@thehorsehasnowbolted

I didn't manage to get married so can't be a 'Mrs' so you can't be a 'Mrs' either

How might we explain the numerous women here who didn't become a Mrs when they got married, preferring to stick to Ms throughout, me included?

I didn't do that from a place of vindictiveness or resentment. I find that a bit of an odd assumption.

because some people hold negative associations with women being either single or divorced

Sorry to break it to you, but this will continue to happen, whether titles are banned or whether you approve of it or not

Oh those Loony Activist women! Always thinking about things! With their brains in gear! They're bloody everywhere nowadays.

I use 'Ms' also.

I was referring to those (like the OP) who want to ban titles because they cannot have the one they would like

@thehorsehasnowbolted

you're not breaking anything to me on this so far I dont think, but I'm all ears.

I think you’ll find most people who effected positive societal change over many hundreds of years have been called “loony activists” at some point.

Think about it. Wouldn't it be fantastic if wedding rings became 'socially unacceptable' too?

I'll keep on wearing mine, BTW, thanks

I've grew up where these titles were not used in everyday language (only in military, politics and on a rare occasion when referring to elders). When I moved to UK I could never really get used to it. I understand its a cultural difference but I kinda feel like it's a weird cos play when I'm referred with a title 😃

This.

What I wanted to say but you explained it better lol.

My sister is a married Ms ! Lots of married women use it

On wedding rings, they have only been worn by men for the last hundred years or so, but women have been sporting them for the past five thousand, just so we know who belongs to who and don't get confused and whatnot.

Doesn't everyone? It's very modern.

Ermmm... same as titles then

I genuinely don't care and quite like being a miss 🤷🏻‍♀️

Awaits the next thread calling for the banning of wedding rings.

I'm not sure they do these days. Its certainly dying out.

Everyone uses Ms in my field and socially most women around me have kept their own names on marriage.