tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post1044082138329575634..comments2023-06-16T03:54:00.078-05:00Comments on From Austin to A&M: Mrs., Miss, and Ms.; or, being a woman is linguistically annoyingCourtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351518605068734277noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-37099301880893326612010-08-09T01:47:52.730-05:002010-08-09T01:47:52.730-05:00I'm a housewife, so I get this all the time. I...I'm a housewife, so I get this all the time. I prefer Ms because it helps me keep my autonomy. I may clean but I'm not a vacuum- that's how I explain it to most people.<br /><br />Great read- thanks!Treehousehttp://sarcastictwinkie.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-33187386404445844322010-08-05T19:12:38.370-05:002010-08-05T19:12:38.370-05:00Thanks Mike! I edited the post for accuracy.Thanks Mike! I edited the post for accuracy.Courtneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17351518605068734277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-39495824675176811122010-08-05T18:04:58.881-05:002010-08-05T18:04:58.881-05:00The QES are the fustiest of fusty ol' fuddy-du...The QES are the fustiest of fusty ol' fuddy-duddies and are totally not officially in charge of British (or any other kind of) English. They are self-appointed numptied with a very false sense of massive superiority. They should be ignored with extreme prejudice apart from instances like this where they should be called out and castigated for the misogynistic morons they are.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01082415659586844110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-81174305558801803812010-08-04T08:12:53.471-05:002010-08-04T08:12:53.471-05:00Another married Ms. here.
My household's char...Another married Ms. here.<br /><br />My household's charitable donations are made in my name alone because there's no "Mr. and Ms." option in the title pull-down menu in only donation forms.<br /><br />My son's fourth-grade English homework once included a worksheet demanding that he expand "Mrs." They were taught—seriously! in liberal Chicago! in 2010!—that it's an abbreviation for "mistress." I told him, of course, that that was bullshit, that "missus" is a better fit, and that nobody expands the damn abbreviation anymore anyway.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-24249550903428763192010-08-03T23:29:41.294-05:002010-08-03T23:29:41.294-05:00I've no stories to share, for I've general...I've no stories to share, for I've generally avoided being called by any title at all, even when I was married.<br /><br />I'm really pleased to see this post though. I remember, when I first read that Motivated Grammar article, my thought was, "They failed to address the fact that women are often judged based on their marital status, when using either 'Miss' or 'Mrs."<br /><br />And Adrienne, I really feel for you on the experience with the student. I can't number how many times I wore my wedding ring, even after I was divorced, because I was tired of having guys look at me like a piece of tasty beef.Karanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-30642754559919048272010-08-03T16:10:43.154-05:002010-08-03T16:10:43.154-05:00I would bet that the main people arguing about the...I would bet that the main people arguing about the abolition of 'Ms.' are people unlabeled by marital status, i.e., dudez.R.B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05865549528010761178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-5448125661158659762010-08-03T13:22:22.399-05:002010-08-03T13:22:22.399-05:00Interesting and excellent responses. Thanks for t...Interesting and excellent responses. Thanks for thoughts and insights. And welcome fizzysister! Glad to see you commenting.Adriennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08528685395824023291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-76244840246112974962010-08-03T09:05:01.747-05:002010-08-03T09:05:01.747-05:00Great post! I too stumbled across the QES recently...Great post! I too stumbled across the QES recently, and was horrified. Their approach to language seems to (intentionally?) further marginalise already marginalised groups of people. Their pontifications on the use of the word 'gender' and on 'political correctness' are particularly offensive. It's frustrating that Gabe's response to them also ends up framing the Ms issue as a matter of etiquette rather than politics.<br /><br />I used Ms for several years until I got my doctorate a year or so ago. I initially relished being able to use a gender-neutral, marital-status-independent honourific, without having to argue about it (I have a piece of paper to prove I'm a Dr, never had one to prove I was Ms). However, I'm becoming less keen precisely because it's not available to everyone and it somehow confers a kind of social superiority with which I am quite uncomfortable. Also, it just allows me to neatly side-step the issue, whereas I'd rather engage with people and explain why I'm not Miss and will never be Mrs.<br /><br />PS. Hi! I've been reading your excellent blog for a while but this is my first comment.fizzysisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15851212678039082242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-7030774307191280032010-08-03T09:03:07.963-05:002010-08-03T09:03:07.963-05:00I don't know that my wife has ever dealt with ...I don't know that my wife has ever dealt with any title issues aside from the constant assumption from everyone that she has taken my name and the shock and dubiousness we are met with when people find out she hasn't - mild annoyance with her for not sticking with tradition and a loss of respect for me because I guess I didn't stress the importance of it, as though my masculinity is somehow tied into forcing a new name on my wife.<br /><br />But, this article did remind me of an interesting cultural difference I encountered a while back. I was engaged to be married at the same time as one of the graduate assistants in my office. She's Pakistani, and we were comparing marriage traditions of our cultures one afternoon, and she pointed out that I wasn't wearing any kind of a ring. "Why doesn't your fiancee mark you?" she asked me. It was an interesting question that immediately brought to my mind yet another of the double standards most people don't even think about on a daily basis, or just accept at face value. My wife walked around with a ring that to most people simply means "owned." I had nothing, which kind of implied "owner."<br /><br />We bought my wedding ring online that afternoon, but to this day I now feel weird about the entire "rings" concept.LeeboZeebohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15287503723067577333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-16711059552872028442010-08-03T02:28:30.694-05:002010-08-03T02:28:30.694-05:00I used to work for the Australian Government, and ...I used to work for the Australian Government, and when answering letters from the public we were instructed that where the name indicated 'female', and they had not indicated a preferred title, [or indicated in their letter that they were a) married, and b) elderl] we should ALWAYS use Ms. As of several years ago, it is the official 'feminine default'. <br /><br />I'm married, and took my husband's surname, but insist on Ms. If he doesn't need to reveal his marital status via title, neither do I!MsLauriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14865393664244155193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-88283810329118882162010-08-03T02:28:26.884-05:002010-08-03T02:28:26.884-05:00It is so handy that in Dutch we only use 'mevr...It is so handy that in Dutch we only use 'mevrouw' for addressing a woman. There used to be another term for an unmarried women (mejuffrouw), but that is not used any more.<br />English does always leave me confused in this though, but I guess that Ms. is not only a political statement, but also the safe way to go if you don't know how the woman wants to be addressed. <br /><br />/NRNuclear Rainbowhttp://nuclearrainbow.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627855023521770072.post-5522390269566349252010-08-02T21:51:25.733-05:002010-08-02T21:51:25.733-05:00My mother, who is a staunch feminist, will STERNLY...My mother, who is a staunch feminist, will STERNLY correct anyone who refers to her as Mrs. Even though she is married. I have been taught to love Ms. from a very young age, and I still think, when I write out my name with a Ms., it is very pretty. Mrs. is too boxy, and Miss, the s's trip on themselves.<br /><br />You know what makes no damn sense? Deciding to abolish the one term that can apply to every woman, instead arguing that there should be two terms, forcing all English speakers to then awkwardly and uncomfortably guess and giving them a 50% chance of being wrong every time. And maybe annoying people with their assumptions. Get rid of the shortest, most applicable term? CLEARLY. <br /><br />Grammar is very political, and it's a really passionate topic for me. Thank you for this post.Gayle Forcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07283148910943242196noreply@blogger.com