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Mrs. Bee, New York Age and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee Publisher Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Internet Engagement Date: May 7, 2004 Wedding Date: March 5, 2005 Venue: Westside Loft, New York About Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
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Miss, Mrs, Ms.

June 19th, 2006 @ 9:43 pm by Mrs. Bee

I was registering with the Cartier site, so I could be notified when new pieces of their Love jewelry are released. In the title field, the only options offered were “Miss” and Mrs.”

Wow - I’ve been choosing “Ms.” for as long as I can remember, and can’t recall a time when it wasn’t an option! It’s not that I mind being called “Mrs.” at all. I suppose I’m just used to the whole idea behind “Ms.” - you can’t tell if a guy is married by his title so why shouldn’t women have the same option?

What do you think? Should title fields always include Miss, Mrs. and Ms., or are we just too pc for our own good? Do you have any preference on being called Ms. or Mrs. after marriage?

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Cartier’s LOVE line.

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20 Responses to “Miss, Mrs, Ms.”

1.
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Miss Daisy

i love to be called Miss, quite honestly. but i will happily switch to Mrs., post-wedding. i just never embraced Ms. (possibly due to negative associations with the magazine of that name…)

 
2.
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Chelles

Well, I am not married but this is a tough decision since I am a grade school teacher. I usually go by Miss. because it is cute and fun and the kids like it. For my older kids, I let them call me Madame! But now that I am almost married, I want to take my husband’s name, but I dont want to loose stability.

So maybe you can answer this because now I am curious… do you plan on changing your last name in your place of work or will you keep your madien name to avoid confusion?

 
3.
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Andi

i prefer Ms. since i wont be changing my last name for a long while. I’m sure for all daily routine stuff people will refer me to Mrs. - but legally I will remain a Ms. maiden name.

 
4.
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Aliya

Personally, i’ve always associated Ms. with women who are either Lesbians and therefore unable to marry, those who have been divorced but keep the married name, and those who otherwise don’t really fit into either Miss or Misses. So for me, I always go by Miss. However, now that I’m getting Married I will surely move right to Mrs. even if my name isn’t officially changed right away.

Technically, Mr. is the same abreviation for two titles. Mister and Master. Master being unmarried. Mister Married.

 
5.
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Twistie

Back through the mists of time, Mrs. and Miss had nothing whatsoever to do with one’s marital status. Just like Master and Mister, it was a matter of reaching legal majority (Master has never been a term associated purely with an unmarried state). An unmarried woman of legal age would be known as ‘Mrs.’ while a young girl would be ‘Miss’.

Alas, somewhere along the line someone changed the rule. I say it’s time to be a classicist and bring back the original meanings.

In the meantime, I refer to myself as ‘Ms.’ despite the fact that I am by no means a lesbian nor divorced. Since the rest of the world refuses to acknowledge the original meanings of the titles, it’s the best compromise I have been able to come up with.

Lately, though, I’ve been toying with choosing ‘Mrs.’ despite the fact I’ve kept my own name and have no intention of ever changing it to my husband’s. You know, because of the classicist thing.

 
6.
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audrey

I am 23, definately able to marry, heterosexual, a strong believer in “till death to us part”, and I proudly rock to the title of “Ms.”

 
7.
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Mrs. Rose

I am a strong believer in and supporter of the term Ms. I am happily married as well, but strictly use Ms.

 
8.
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g

i went to Smith, a women’s college, and being that the founder of Ms. magazine, Gloria Steinem, is an alum, the term Ms. came naturally to us. even when i was student teaching at the college’s lab school, we were all referred to as Ms. and contrary to popular belief, not all of us are lesbians. :) it was a title that i used regularly and happily.

i am now married and also a school teacher, and while changing my name was rather annoying with going through all the paperwork, etc, it was really exciting for my first graders and fellow colleagues. since i am regularly referred to as “mrs” at school, it kind of made the change real and much easier to adjust to, and made the change real to my kids, too.

 
9.
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Nicol

I love being my husband’s “Mrs.”. I was proud to take his name because I’m proud of him and who he is, and of being one with him. I didn’t feel any loss of identity because he isn’t the sort of man to strip me of my freedom or identity. We are equal partners with the same last name because we’re family now, and even if we are equal sharing partners, he is the head of the household. It’s such a dichotomy, but one that I am very happy with. :)

 
10.
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joy

I’ve always used Ms. and it has nothing to do with being a lesbian or a feminist. If you were asked your marital status on all of the webpages and forms that ask you to choose a title, you would think it’s rude. So, I choose the ambiguous title.

 
11.
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Aliya

I feel i need to clairify my statement about lesbians, etc. I definately understand that some women simply choose Ms. and as stated above, for some very good reasons. I was just stating my personal stipulation of the term.

And I’m going to be a proud wife, wanting everyone in the world to know that I’m married. So of course I’ll WANT to use Mrs. [my new last name].

 
12.
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Stephanie

I’ll be getting married in about a year and I never felt it necessary to use the title “Ms.” I never was a fan of political correctness…it never changes the raw facts. You’re married or you’re not, you’re gay or straight, etc. Titles don’t change it. I’m excited to be united with my husband in every way, including my title. I feel no need to allow my status to be ambiguous, and I want people to know that I’m married. It certainly makes for less opportunities for misunderstandings and lack of clarity. Using the title “Mrs.” also communicates to my husband that I am proud to be his. There’s my two cents… =-)

 
13.
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kanipark

i like ms. cuz mrs. sounds older :)

 
14.
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toad

Neither my fiance nor I are lesbians. But we are both feminists. I use “Ms.” now and will continue to do so after I’m married. I will also be keeping my name. I don’t use the title to “change” anything. I just prefer one title for men and one for women.

Also, as an attorney, “Ms.” is more professional sounding than either “Miss” or “Mrs.” Practically, no one wants to hash out whether you’re married or not before sending you anything. Just my thoughts.

(I like that one company allows you to pick your title on a catalog request form from the usual “Miss,” “Mrs.” and so on to “Princess,” “Earl” and the like. I think I went with “Duchess.” Heehee. Er, and if it wasn’t clear, I’m not a Duchess.)

 
15.
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Twistie

What catalogue is that, toad? I’d love to have something come to my door labelled ‘princess’!

Topic: I remember when I girded my loins to tell my then fiance, now husband, that I intended to keep my own name after we were married. He just blinked, looked a bit confused, and said: “I never thought you’d do anything else.” I guess he knew me pretty well. ; )

We’re a married couple, a united front, and a full partnership. We just have different names.

 
16.
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toad

The company is Boden (http://www.boden.co.uk/catreq.asp). The noble titles might be because Boden is based in the UK. But then again, you can also choose “Squadron Leader” and “Field Marshal Lord” so could just be that they’re quirky. (Come to think of it, I might have dubbed myself a “Brigadier.”)

And I agree that having different names doesn’t mean anything about the quality of your partnership. Of course, here in the Bay Area, no one would blink twice about it.

 
17.
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Twistie

Actually, here in the Bay Area I’ve had several people fight me tooth and nail on the subject. We have one friend who sends greeting cards for everything short of Arbor Day and always addresses ours to Mr. & Mrs. His Name. Sigh. And my father got me a lifetime membership in an organization as Mrs. His Name. Sigh. But the important thing is my husband knows my name. ; )

Thanks for the link! I may have to rethink and be a Brigadier.

 
18.
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ms. mouse

I’m divorced and remarrying, but kept my maiden name, many of my close friends are homosexual (and I don’t care what the law says, if they had a ceremony I refer to them as married- marriage takes place in your heart not on a sheet of paper) and I filled out my voter’s form as “rabid feminist” party so I could say, “Yes, it just so happens that I am a registered rabid feminist.” FI and I are adding each other’s names to our own. So we’ll have the same name(s). And yes, he’ll be Mr and I’ll be a Ms if we need a title at all. FI knows I love him and respect him for the things we do and the way we are, and vice versa. I sometimes wonder if with all the wedding this and wife that I’m trying to prove something I already know to be true: we’re best friends with a lasting commitment and beautiful relationship.
Twistie- My dad had a colleage who was very proud of his Phd and insisted that everyone, even in casual conversation, call him Dr. Smith. My dad, who like most people in the office had an MA, said that was fine with him as long as Dr. Smith called him Master Jones. Who knew that was correct anyway?

Whhewwww! Sorry this is so long!

 
19.
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charlotte

In the case of the OP, I think it is cultural for Cartier. My French friend was recently lamenting that there is no equivalent to Ms. in the French language. She is of age, has a daughter, and a PACs with the father of her daughter, but they will never marry. She chooses Madame when given the option but when she goes in for government services (like health exams) she is still Mademoiselle. In the case of Cartier I think it is a language issue.

 
20.
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Laura

I am newly married and prefer to use Ms rather than Mrs as I’m 25 yrs old and think Mrs sounds too old!! Also by using Ms people are unsure whether your married or not and its not anyones business. I’d like to say that I’ve taken my husbands name and am proud to.

 


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