Wouldn't Mrs offend your mother? I'm not being an ass, that's a real question.
Perhaps I am being dense, but don't understand the question at all. Are you suggesting that Mrs. is "correct" because there are some women who aren't offended by it?
What I meant was, wouldn't your mother be offended you called her Mrs, even in a social situation.
That's what I was saying. Do you consider Mrs to be matronly in this situation since you said that Mrs is your mom and you're Ms?
Regardless, I do understand what everyone is saying. This is just something I have never heard of before. You learn something new every day.
No, I agree that you don't have to use Mrs to signify that you're married. That makes sense. I never realized people were offended by using Mrs in a professional (non law job). I had never even heard of this before. So, sure, I'm initially dumfounded at first. This is something new that I have learned. And, yes, I was taught to always address someone as Ms if you don't know their marital status and Mrs if you do. I never realized people would correct someone to have them say Ms.
Does it help if I tell you that "Ms." is pronounced "mizz" versus "miss"? I thought it might help to clarify that Ms. is not an abbreviated form of Miss.
I thought it was pronounced Miss like Hiss. So, yea, that makes sense. Ah, I clearly have learned a lot today.
So, wth is Ms an abbreviation for?
When would you use miss? I always thought it was the abbreviation of Miss.
I honestly don't get it. I've never heard this before. I've always been taught Ms. Sally Smith is someone who isn't married. Mrs. Sally Smith is someone who is married.
Why is this offensive?
That is not true. Ms is the female version of mr. It has nothing to do with marital status.
Miss mean unmarried. Mrs mean married. Ms is for any female.
I prefer Ms for myself and use it for all adult women unless I've been told to use something else.
Does it help if I tell you that "Ms." is pronounced "mizz" versus "miss"? I thought it might help to clarify that Ms. is not an abbreviated form of Miss.
I thought it was pronounced Miss like Hiss. So, yea, that makes sense. Ah, I clearly have learned a lot today.
So, wth is Ms an abbreviation for?
When would you use miss? I always thought it was the abbreviation of Miss.
Ms. was originally an abbreviation for mistress (17th century?) but more of less fell out if use until the 1970s, when it was revived as a title for grown women regardless of marital status. It was revived by second wave feminists who took issue with the fact that Mrs. is possessive and defines a woman in relation to her husband and wanted a female equivalent to Mr.
Miss is used for girls or, in some cases, single women.
FWIW, Ms. and Miss are pronounced virtually identically in some accents, in which case the distinction is really a written one.
Does it help if I tell you that "Ms." is pronounced "mizz" versus "miss"? I thought it might help to clarify that Ms. is not an abbreviated form of Miss.
I thought it was pronounced Miss like Hiss. So, yea, that makes sense. Ah, I clearly have learned a lot today.
So, wth is Ms an abbreviation for?
When would you use miss? I always thought it was the abbreviation of Miss.
Ms. was originally an abbreviation for mistress (17th century?) but more of less fell out if use until the 1970s, when it was revived as a title for grown women regardless of marital status. It was revived by second wave feminists who took issue with the fact that Mrs. is possessive and defines a woman in relation to her husband and wanted a female equivalent to Mr.
Miss is used for girls or, in some cases, single women.
FWIW, Ms. and Miss are pronounced virtually identically in some accents, in which case the distinction is really a written one.
Post by blueshirt2003 on Apr 24, 2014 14:14:30 GMT -5
Thank you, everyone. I know I came off as being dense but I was initially dumbfounded. This makes a lot of sense. Even if it took several examples to beat it into my skull.
Thank you, everyone. I know I came off as being dense but I was initially dumbfounded. This makes a lot of sense. Even if it took several examples to beat it into my skull.
No worries. You are being very gracious in light of the pile on. . FWIW, if you have been using Ms. for women who keep their own last names and women whose marital status is unknown and the circumstances in which you use titles for women are largely social or in a school setting, then you have probably not really done anything "wrong." It's just nice to be aware of the issue moving forward.
In social situations Mrs. may be the standard address but it isn't the default in professional situations. Ms. is always the default unless you have been told specifically to use Mrs.
For example, in the CRM I manage for work we have only 185 women with the Mrs. designation and more than 5000 with Ms. designation. That should tell you something about which is more prevalent in the work place.
And personally, I would be more than a little peeved if someone addressed something to me professionally as Mrs. Nomad just because they knew I was married. Mainly because I kept my maiden name and Mrs. Nomad would be my mother. I am Ms. Nomad.
Wouldn't Mrs offend your mother? I'm not being an ass, that's a real question.
I guess I am not sure what you are asking.
If someone called me Mrs. Nomad, I would be peeved because that isn't my name. I am Ms. Nomad because I kept my maiden name.
My mother did not keep her maiden name and so goes by Mrs. Nomad. So if people called her that, it is her name so why would she be offended?