I've been using 'Ms' since I first heard of it, at age 16 or so. I thought it was really unfair that women had to display their marital status, whereas men didn't, and I'm really shocked that so many people think it means you're divorced!
Cut and pasted from an online dictionary:
1.a title of respect prefixed to a woman's name or position: unlike Miss or Mrs., it does not depend upon or indicate her marital status.
2.a title prefixed to a mock surname that is used to represent possession of a particular attribute, identity, etc., especially in an idealized or excessive way: Ms. Cooperation.
?Usage note
Ms. came into use in the 1950s as a title before a woman's surname when her marital status was unknown or irrelevant. In the early 1970s, the use of Ms. was adopted and encouraged by the women's movement, the reasoning being that since a man's marital status is not revealed by the title Mr., there is no reason that a woman's status should be revealed by her title.
Since then Ms. has gained increasing currency, especially in business and professional use. Some women prefer the traditional Miss (still fully standard for a woman whose marital status is unknown and for an unmarried woman) or, when appropriate, Mrs.
Newspaper editors sometimes reject Ms. except in quoted matter. Others use whichever of the three titles a woman prefers if her preference is known. Increasingly, newspapers avoid the use of all three titles by referring to women by their full names in first references ( Sarah Brady; Margaret Bourke-White ) and by surname only, as with men, in subsequent references: Brady, Bourke-White. Since all three titles? Ms., Miss, and Mrs. ?remain in use, the preference of the woman being named or addressed or the practice of the organization or publication in which the name is to appear is often followed.