[HPFGU-OTChatter] Ms. vs. Miss; to Dame or not to Dame (was Re: Titles)

[Jen Faulkner]

On Wed, 16 May 2001, Rosmerta wrote:

> Dearest Jen,

At the risk of reviving the dead horse, I wanted to respond to this: 

> This bulletin just in from the suburbs: I wish it weren't so, but the
> Ms. title is unambiguously NOT standard ANYwhere I've lived for the
> past 10 years, and that's including the overeducated/overmonied towns
> of the Northeast U.S. I didn't change my name when I married *and*
> use the title Ms. or at least try to, a double violation of some code
> I haven't yet deciphered. People have assumed I'm a lesbian, a
> divorcee, a nanny or a kidnapper (all of which have their
> possibilities, but none of which I am).

I understand everything but the nanny bit...  *shrugs* In suggesting
that it was standard (which statement I stand by, btw), I wasn't
thinking so much of small-town reaction, but of things like media usage;
Ms. is the standard title used to address women who don't have another
title (Governor, or whatever), by any major tv/print/radio type of news
organization, as far as I am aware.  When I worked during high school as
an intern for a (Republican, pretty conservative, FWIW -- who you worked
for was *not* picked based on similarity of politics) State Assemblyman
and would write letters to constitutents, unless there had been some
indication to do otherwise, letters were to be addressed "Ms. Whoever."  
That's what I meant by standard more than either universally practiced
or universally standard.

--jen, who has had people assume she's a lesbian for a lot of (very good
*g*) reasons, but never because of using "Ms." :)

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