Need PhD....

[sonicdrift]

My first day edition Harry Potter stamps just arrived. Addressed to 'Miss'. Thinking it strange I'd chosen this title as i never do, I checked the confirmation email, and indeed it had me down as a 'Ms'.

This annoys me.
Mainly on principle as if they're going to ask you how you prefer to be addressed why have someone deliberately change it

Comments

[cartesiandaemon]

I'm inclined to assume it's a chauvinistic bug somewhere in the mail merge software; that the preference never got across, only the gender. But I don't know, I know people do do that.

Maybe we should have gone the whole hog and addressed everyone with "Ser".

Or maybe we should go the other way, have someone's philosophy, religion and satisfaction with spouse, if any, encoded in their title :)

[mair_aw]

getting married is another option.

[sonicdrift]

Except I'd still use 'Ms' and they'd just guess wrong!

[mair_aw]

but then you would use 'Ms', and they might call you 'Miss', and you could say "muahahaha actually I'm not. Please to be calling me Ms."

[lnr]

But given that doesn't work now why would it be better if she were married?

Caroline who I work with is married and still uses Miss because that's what she prefers.

Me I get just as cross when people use Miss for me, I'm a Ms and have been since I was about 11.

[numberland]

That is very irritating. I get similarly upset but only the other way around. I don't think either is inheritantly better then the other but I am a Miss and would please like to be addressed as such... espicially when I've specifically told someone before.

[sonicdrift]

You weren't being called strange and annoying just 'cause you prefer Miss over Ms.(Well, maybe strange ;P) You were being called strange and annoying if you refuse to use it at all, such as insisting on addressing someone as Miss even when they've called to complain that they just got called Miss, or changing Ms to Miss everytime you see it, even when it's a complete stranger trying to order Harry Potter stamps.

[uisgebeatha]

I usually put Miss on things, and get irritated at people then using Ms for some reason. What even is Ms? Is it some politically-correct thing? Seriously, I don't actually know. :/

Actually, my mum once accidentally opened mail addressed to a 'Mrs'...and it was for me. Now *that* was weird...

[sonicdrift]

'Ms' is the female equivalent of 'Mr' that doesn't include information about a women's martial status. According to Wikipedia it's been round since 1700's and Mistress was only separated into Mrs and Miss in the 17th century.

Personally, I don't see why as I'm female I should be asked or have to advertise if I'm married or not every time I fill in a form or am formally addressed. Especially as it's outdated to assume that a 'Miss' isn't permanently attached anyway.

If there's no other information it seems sensible to have 'Ms' to use than have to guess whether a woman's married or not, if only to avoid the mail mix up like the one you described. I realised I was getting old when I companies started guessing I was a 'Mrs'!

[cartesiandaemon]

I'm still not totally fond of the word "Ms" but admit I can't think of anything I would prefer.

[simont]

that doesn't include information about a women's martial status

Yes, I can see it would be a dreadful invasion of a woman's privacy to have the most casual references to you include information about whether she's Novice Jones, Trainee Jones, Ninja Jones, Sensei Jones or Grand Master Do-Not-Mess-With Jones :-)

[mair_aw]

M(aster)s?

[sonicdrift]

Then Cambridge would be full of Doctors and Masters!

[beckyc]

Yeah, but it could be limited to those people with real Masters' degrees and not fake ones.