Mrs Yvette Cooper - BBC and titles - AIBU?

[Knickersnolongerinatwist]

A few months ago the BBC announced that they were going to stop using ordinary titles in news reports. They would continue to use titles such as president. About time too, I thought.

Just now on BBC Breakfast (sat 23rd aug approx 9:10am) they referred to the home secretary as "Mrs Yvette Cooper" and I was surprised that they seem to have reverted to using titles again and either
A) Yvette Cooper is choosing to use Mrs Cooper despite not being married to a Mr Cooper (although I can think of one person I know who did this upon marriage I don't think its a particularly common move)
Or
B) the BBC reporter chose the wrong title for her.
AIBU to think it's B?
And AIB doubly U to think reverting to using (pointless) titles is a poormmove by the BBC?

I really don't care - far more important things to worry about.

Not sure I would even notice

Quicker to scroll on by, one would have thought? If you’re so busy and important.

Why on earth does it matter?

Given the amount of live content the BBC produces, the odd mistake is pretty much inevitable and this feels like a reasonably inconsequential one.

I personally prefer not to have marital status ascribed in a professional capacity. Many will disagree with me, but I think it’s rather outdated and can be detrimental to women in the workplace, and wider society.

It is common for professional women with certain qualifications/memberships etc to keep their own name after marriage. I know a few who've double barrelled.
They may have asked her how she wants to be referred to. As said, in all that goes on, within the BBC, this has got to be the least important.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard the BBC use titles in this way! How very odd.

(Mrs refers to her marital status not her name, so perhaps that’s her choice of title.)

I actually meant on the news, rather than in my own life - though there are more important things in my own life too.

It was a recorded report and it's not like Yvette coopers husband is just an unknown piece or arm candy. They are a fairly well known couple in the political and other news world.

And now I can't find the article where they announced no more using of titles. Wonder if they've quietly changed their minds.

Surely it should just be whatever title she herself wishes to be known by? If that's Mrs Yvette Cooper then so be it. If just Yvette Cooper then that's fine too.

She didn't take her husband's name on marriage and remained a Cooper when marrying Ed Balls. Presumably she didn't want to be known as Mrs. Balls. I think the children were given the surname Cooper too.

I don't understand why titles need to be used at all. Does it matter if a woman is married or whatever. It's all about the role.

Some PA made a mistake

It’s not important

I wouldn't care, I just like waiting to see how long it takes for the words "we inherited whatever" and "let me be clear" to be spoken. Answer about 10 seconds usually.

I agree.

And ‘Mrs’ is one of those titles that gives away personal information about its holder in a way that ‘Mr’ doesn’t.

‘Mrs’ = a woman who is or has been married.

I dislike being effectively asked if I’m married or not. (‘And is that Miss or Mrs?’)

The children were given the surname Cooper. That’s because their father has a bad stammer and he worried about the children struggling to pronounce their surname in the same way he had, should they inherit his condition.

It does sound odd, doesn't it? And I thought even back when politicians titles were more used, it was Title Surname rather than Title Firstname Surname. Hence Mrs Thatcher and Mr Blair. Mrs may or may not be her chosen title but I'd have thought even if it were, stylistically she'd be Mrs Cooper or Yvette Cooper.

I'd be pissed off in her shoes, they're interviewing her as The Right Hon Yvette Cooper not someone's wife. It is either plain old Yvette Cooper MP or her full title.

The BBC need to sort themselves out. I've complained to the BBC a couple of times in the last year. Their political reporting is shite at times.

Yea, I noticed this this morning. It was remarkably odd.
She was referred to variously as Yvette Cooper, Mrs Cooper, Mrs Yvette Cooper and the Home Secretary.

Maybe (for those whining but why do you caaaare ) I should be grateful she wasn't called Mrs Edward Balls?

It's quite possible the BBC has noticed and is dealing with it internally. I wouldn’t expect them to tell everyone about it - It's not something that needs more than a reminder to the reporter(s) or news editors.

If they were to report on it, we'd be having threads about, "why are the BBC telling everyone their reporter used titles when they had told them not to, when they should be spending the time reporting on Gaza/Ukraine/Sudan/drought/wildfires/etc/etc." So they can't win, whatever they do.

What happened to Ms.? It's the perfect default polite title; covers single, married, divorced, using my original surname professionally, whatever! And doesn't define you by your marital status.

Given that getting it right or wrong gets people annoyed (and to get it "right" all the time you need to be referring to lists of people's preferred titles before writing news reports/speaking to parents in parents evenings/any occasion where a woman may be present/referred to and a family name is used it would be much easier if they just did away with titles altogether or do like the Japanese do and just have San as an honorific for either gender. Saves a lot of bother.

You'd think it would do exactly this but it seems it never caught on (unlike words like skibidy which can be invented, mean nothing and get into the dictionary within a very short space of time) as often people don't give me that option eg recently at opticians and at local 6th form college. I chose Rev in both cases. No one has called me rev yet but they at least haven't asked about my marital status and how it should be reflected in my title in the unlikely event that they call me title surname rather than my given name.

It's weird the way that the UK is so skittish about Ms. (well, apart, I think, from the Guardian!); it is used much more regularly in the USA.