I was just informed that even the married women at our firm would like to be introduced as "Ms." instead of "Mrs." in our media items. Apparently, in modern times, they find it somewhat sexist that there should be a differentiation, and that such differentiation could put them at a disadvantage in the business world. Granted, given the demographics of this board, this poll might be skewed, but what do you think? Should married women in a professional setting be introduced / described in bio's as Mrs. or Ms.
out of respect. Ms. the worst thing you could do is infer that a woman is married. Plus it's a great way to weed out the married ones to spot your pray
^ I agree there. If you know FOR SURE, use the appropriate "Mrs." because she is accepting that the last name is different now. When priests show the new bride and groom, they're presented as "Mr. and Mrs. New Last Name." Besides, the worst thing you can do is ASSuME. Don't. You don't know, so don't use "Mrs." unless completely sure. Use "Ms."
So is "Miss" and "Ms." Ms. is a default generic term. Mistress, like Mister, didn't imply if a person was married or unmarried. Today, Mrs. refers to a married woman while Miss refers to an unmarried woman. Ms. makes no distinction and in that way is closer to the original usage of Mistress. If you call someone "Miss" or "Mrs.", you could be wrong, implying someone is married when they're not or vice versa. You can't be wrong when addressing a woman as Ms.
I typically always go with Ms. mainly because A: it covers me if they are married or not B: I'm not insulting their age by calling them Miss and C: it's how most people address me irl
If you don't want to unknowingly upset someone just use Ms. It's easier and correct, as spelled out in the post above.
Wait. Hold up. What is the difference between Miss and Ms.? I thought one was just short way of writing the other, though you really only save one character. Is one pronounced with a soft 's' and the other with a 'z'?
That's for married ladies or "older" ladies. Suit yourself if you want to get slapped. Use Señorita? and they'll quickly tell you if they're "Doña" or "Señora." I know it's not the point of this thread and you're trying to stir up stuff... but... I will inquire about what the trouble is, anyway: And why not, if I may ask, madam?
For some reason, I used to think that "Miss" meant never married, "Mrs" meant married, and "Ms" meant divorced or widowed. I don't know why. Ms. is pronounced "miz".
Ms. implies nothing. It's the exact feminine equivalent of Mr. Miss doesn't imply youth, it just means they're single.