Miss or Ms

I always thought "Ms." was merely an abbreviation for "Miss" (same with the "Mr./Mister" dynamic). I'm not a girl, but if I were, I'd prefer "Ms."

 

Ms. is a recent feminist invention. Men are always called "Mr." which doesn't give any indication as to what their marital status is. Women are (or were?) called "Miss" before marriage and "Mrs." after marriage (or by the time they reach a certain age, according to some). Of course, one can immediately tell if a woman in married just by her title. That pissed off some folks, who retaliated by inventing the word "Ms."

That's how my mom explained it to me, anyway.

Me, I think I prefer being addressed as "General."

Just kidding.

I don't know what I prefer. I feel that these titles are all pretty awkward. I suppose "Miss" is fine. I'm pretty sure that once I'm married, I'd rather be called "Mrs."

EDIT: my mom was right. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ms.

 

I've always been opposed to the double standard requiring women to identify their marital status, where men don't have to. If I were a woman, I'd choose Ms.

 

Yeah, that's what we were told in our English class. But I can't remember what is the difference when it comes to pronunciation... Can you help me with that? How do you say Ms? If I remember it correctly it is a bit similar to Mrs?

We don't have an equivalent in my language. We have Miss and Mrs. And if we call someone (not with her name) and we are not sure, we can say young lady, but that's it.

 

Ehh, I never really cared either way. Someday, if I ever get married, we'll probably both be Mrs., but until then I don't really care. :/

Side note, my mom says I should care and blah, blah, blah. This just gives me more reason not to care. XD

 

I thought "Master" was for unmarried men...or is that BS? : 3

 

It was true 150 years ago. Actually, I think it might be for minors rather than the unmarried.

---------- Post added 11th Dec 2013 at 09:55 PM ----------

I think its like 'mz' or something.

 

It would seem that Miss is for unmarried women, but Ms can be used so as to not state marital status (ie, can be used whether you're married or not).

I always thought Miss sounded younger than Ms or Mrs, so I prefer it, but I guess one can't be Miss if they're married- not that it affects me, seeing as how I'm still single.

 

Thanks, Hexagon

 

I always just say Ms. (pronounced as Hexagon said above) unless I know for sure that the woman is married. Some people don't care, and some people would flip shit on me if I didn't say Mrs. So I just can feel out the area, and mumble a mixture of all three until I hear someone else say one of them.

 

Ms. is pronounced as "miz."

 

Maybe "Master" needs to make a comeback but at that rate, I know too many guys who'd go and change their surnames to Bates...

Not that I would, oh no... :rolle:

 

Does 'Ms' not mean that someone's divorced or have I made that up?

 

I agree with Hexagon, and if I were a woman I'd have Miss BECAUSE IT LOOKS BETTER TO ME, OKAY!?

 

Mrs. = Married woman
Miss= Unmarried woman
Ms.= Unknown/ marital status irrelevant (and as such, it can be used for either married or unmarried women)

I assume Mrs. vs. Miss dates back to the historical importance society placed on women to get married and it perhaps helped men more readily determine which women where available, especially sense it was customary for the man to initiate contact or courtship (?). Historically, after a certain age, women who were unmarried or "Miss" were spinsters and this was generally not desirable.

 

my mum always told me ms is used for people who want others to think they are married but they actually arent, or a woman who is a lesbian and isnt married.

0_0

legit believed this the whole of my life haha... until just now! its apparent her definition is not what it is at all hahaha.

 

I like the sound of "miss" best, but I like "miz" more than "mrs". Why can't I stay miss even if I get married? ;__;