Miss, Mrs. or Madam? The demise of Ms?

[Maj.Nick Danger]

So just where and when did the whole "Ms." thing originate? Wasn't it in the seventies? [huh] And, if women can have a whole nother title,.....shouldn't us men folk have another too? I don't rightly know what that would be exactly,.... ( anyone have an idea?) but I think we should demand our equal rights!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

We men already have a title that doesn't indicate our marital status.
A single man is a "Mr." A married man is a "Mr."
"Ms." is like "Mr.", only for women.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Come to think of it,

we do have a title that indicates singleness. It's "dude".

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Or "bachelor".

 

[LizzieMaine]

A good overview of the history of "Ms." here -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ms.

I had no idea it went back so far -- I first heard it in the mid-seventies, when my 8th grade English teacher was the first woman I ever heard use it.

Personally, I've never liked the idea of any title derived from "Mistress" -- never been one, never expect to be one, and not even my cat thinks I'm cut out to be one.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Personally, I've never liked the idea of any title derived from "Mistress" -- never been one, never expect to be one, and not even my cat thinks I'm cut out to be one.

Now, now ... in the old days, "mistress" didn't necessarily mean "lover".

.

 

[scotrace]

I had no idea it went back so far -- I first heard it in the mid-seventies, when my 8th grade English teacher was the first woman I ever heard use it.

You heard it often in Gone With the Wind. Also Driving Miss Daisey, for that matter.

Belle Watling speaks to "Ms Wilkes," etc.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

And it sounded like "Mizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Wilkes".

 

[scotrace]

Yes! Languid and wonderful.

 

[Nora Charles]

That is funny, I'm a teacher and I am Ms. Stephens, I would have to say most of the women in my school go by Ms. _________ whether they are married or not. Never thought of it.

I am a teacher too, and I have noticed that all of the students say Mrs. no matter what the teacher calls themselves!! I find it funny...

 

[Lincsong]

We men already have a title that doesn't indicate our marital status.
A single man is a "Mr." A married man is a "Mr."
"Ms." is like "Mr.", only for women.

I told my 6th grade teacher in 1980 that Ms. was if a woman didn't want anyone to know if she was married or not. She got very indignant with me about that.lol

 

[LaMedicine]

I'm primarily out of this loop...as the title I'm usually referred to is genderless, and has nothing to do with marital status...doctor. In private, I don't really care if someone says Ms or Mrs or whatever.
It did strike me as rather funny, though, that in a society that generally is thought that both genders are equal, and marital status does not matter, uses titles that will clearly indicate where one stands.
In Japanese, there is no such difference. If you want to be polite, you call everyone, @@@-san, or in the case of addressing letters and such, @@@-sama. Doesn't matter if the person is male or female, married or not. lol

 

[16_sparrows]

Funny, in writing my professional name I always use Ms., but when ever I say it (or address other women) I always say Mrs. I think it goes back to a comment someone made earlier of Ms. sounding too forced. Although, on paper, I think it looks nicer than Mrs.

A teacher once told me that Mrs. came about from Mr's, as in the property of the man, so she refused to use it.

As for Ma'am, when I first moved to the south I was 18 and was completely shocked when someone referred to me as a Ma'am. I thought it was reserved for elderly ladies. I quickly realized that it was a form of respect. Try to tell that to the women I say that to now that I'm up north!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Well, "Mister" comes from "Master", so perhaps "Ms." (and before it, "Mistress") comes from "Master's". Any linguists around here?

.

 

[skinnychik]

I am a teacher too, and I have noticed that all of the students say Mrs. no matter what the teacher calls themselves!! I find it funny...

That's so funny. In my school (which is mostly Hispanic) the kids call all the female teachers "Miss." At first I found it annoying that they weren't putting forth the effort to say my NAME. Someone informed me that it was culturally the equivalent of senora/senorita/ma'am. Now I think it's cute as all get out.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In Chile, the younger schoolchildren call their teachers "tia" (aunt) or "tio" (uncle).

.

 

[Lincsong]

At work I address all the women as "madame".

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

In Central America and South America, women do not take their husbands' surnames when they marry. Instead, wives keep their own last names, which in fact are two names: the last name of their father, followed by the last name of their mother.

My wife's name is Veronica Parra Lizama. "Parra" is her dad's last name, and "Lizama" is her mom's last name.

While "Miss" ("Senorita") and "Mrs." ("Senora") exist in Spanish, there is no Spanish word for "Ms."

.

Do?±a Veronica Parra Lizama de Chevalier.

(Any relation of Victor P., BTW?)

 

[raiderrescuer]

At work I address all the women as "madame".

Better not do that in Nevada...you'll find a real "Madame"

 

[Lincsong]

Better not do that in Nevada...you'll find a real "Madame"

lol lol lol

One time at one of our clients I kept calling this new girl in customer service "mame" and she finally tells me; '" just turned 19, do I look like a 'mame'?"