Answer: "Ms." vs. "Ms"
Is it Ms. or Ms?
The answer is, well, either--and it will take a little more exploration to determine which to use.
In the early 1950s, business writers proposed "Ms." for referring to or addressing women of unknown marital status. In the early 1970s, second-wave feminists picked up on the idea. It's never necessary to know a man's marital status in order to address him, so why should it be necessary for women?
Some of these feminists claimed that "Ms" is not an abbreviation for anything, and shouldn't take a period, though Gloria Steinem is purported to be one of them, and her Ms. magazine does have the period.
According to Chicago style:
use a period after "Ms." even though it's not technically an abbreviation, following Webster's 11th Collegiate, which suggests that "Ms." is a shortened form combining "Miss" and "Mrs."
Similarly, my Oxford American gives the origin of "Ms." as:
combination of Mrs. and miss
Judith Martin, in her Miss Manners column, reports:
Although revived in the 20th century, "Ms." was used as far back as the 17th before the then-respectable title "Mistress" acquired different abbreviations for the married and the unmarried.
So the consensus seems to weigh in that "Ms." is an abbreviation, just as "Mr." and "Mrs." are.
"Mr. Vaughn." Sydney lifted her elegantly gloved hand for Michael to take.
"Ms. Bristow," he replied with a small bow. "Or, should I say, Ms. Kamenev?"
But wait ...
In the United Kingdom, abbreviations have long followed Hart's Rules, which only use a period when a word is truncated, but not when the abbreviation includes the final letter of the word. So "Reverend" is "Rev." with a period, but "Mister" is "Mr" without a period.
In more recent years, many British publications are eliminating all periods in abbreviations.
"Ms Moneypenny." James leaned over the desk with his most charming smile. "You must warn me--is the dragon on the warpath?"
"Mr Bond." Said dragon was suddenly in the doorway, glaring, and James tossed a rueful look at his hoped-for accomplice before heading off to his fate.
In sum
When writing for American fandoms, "Ms." will almost always take a period. There might be a very rare exception if you write about a historical figure with a known preference for "Ms" without.
When writing for British fandoms, "Ms" will never take a period.
Sources:
Chicago Style Q+A
Miss Manners by Judith Martin
Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford
The answer is, well, either--and it will take a little more exploration to determine which to use.
In the early 1950s, business writers proposed "Ms." for referring to or addressing women of unknown marital status. In the early 1970s, second-wave feminists picked up on the idea. It's never necessary to know a man's marital status in order to address him, so why should it be necessary for women?
Some of these feminists claimed that "Ms" is not an abbreviation for anything, and shouldn't take a period, though Gloria Steinem is purported to be one of them, and her Ms. magazine does have the period.
According to Chicago style:
use a period after "Ms." even though it's not technically an abbreviation, following Webster's 11th Collegiate, which suggests that "Ms." is a shortened form combining "Miss" and "Mrs."
Similarly, my Oxford American gives the origin of "Ms." as:
combination of Mrs. and miss
Judith Martin, in her Miss Manners column, reports:
Although revived in the 20th century, "Ms." was used as far back as the 17th before the then-respectable title "Mistress" acquired different abbreviations for the married and the unmarried.
So the consensus seems to weigh in that "Ms." is an abbreviation, just as "Mr." and "Mrs." are.
"Mr. Vaughn." Sydney lifted her elegantly gloved hand for Michael to take.
"Ms. Bristow," he replied with a small bow. "Or, should I say, Ms. Kamenev?"
But wait ...
In the United Kingdom, abbreviations have long followed Hart's Rules, which only use a period when a word is truncated, but not when the abbreviation includes the final letter of the word. So "Reverend" is "Rev." with a period, but "Mister" is "Mr" without a period.
In more recent years, many British publications are eliminating all periods in abbreviations.
"Ms Moneypenny." James leaned over the desk with his most charming smile. "You must warn me--is the dragon on the warpath?"
"Mr Bond." Said dragon was suddenly in the doorway, glaring, and James tossed a rueful look at his hoped-for accomplice before heading off to his fate.
In sum
When writing for American fandoms, "Ms." will almost always take a period. There might be a very rare exception if you write about a historical figure with a known preference for "Ms" without.
When writing for British fandoms, "Ms" will never take a period.
Sources:
Chicago Style Q+A
Miss Manners by Judith Martin
Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford