MS.

'Ms.', or 'Ms' (UK usage), (pronounced or ) is an honorific used with the last name or full name of a woman. Ms, like Mrs and Miss, is a contraction of the honorific "Mistress", which is the feminine of "Mister" or "Master". However, unlike Miss and Mrs., it does not presume the addressee's marital status. Ms. originated in the United States and was popularized in the 1970s. It is now the default form of address for business correspondence with a woman.

Contents

Etymology

Usage

American

British

Further information

See also

Notes

External links

Etymology

Although it is usually believed to be a creation of modern feminism, Ms. was sporadically used as early as the 1700s. "Mistress", like Mister, did not originally bear reference to marital status. This changed as the contractions "Miss" and "Mrs." came into use, beginning in the 17th Century. The pronunciation ''mizz'' for ''Mrs.'' has long been colloquial in the American South and other areas.
The modern use of ''Ms.'' in preference to the traditional appellations was conceived by Sheila Michaels in 1961, upon seeing what might have been a typographical error on a copy of ''News & Letters''.^[1] Address-o-graph plates were difficult to repair and small, poor groups would not waste resources to correct minor mistakes. Michaels' roommate, Mary Hamilton (Congress of Racial Equality's first female Field Secretary in the South) had spoken to the Marxist-Humanist group in Detroit and been mailed a copy of their newsletter. Michaels "was looking for a title for a woman who did not 'belong' to a man" ^[2] She knew the separation of ''Miss'' and ''Mrs.'' had been recent, but one could not suggest that women call themselves ''Mistress'' with its louche connotations. Her efforts to promote use of a new honorific were ignored in the Civil Rights era, and seven years later in the nascent Women's Movement. Around 1971, in a lull during a WBAI-radio interview with ''The Feminists'' group, Michaels suggested the use of ''Ms.'' (having chosen a pronunciation current for both in Missouri, her home). A friend of Gloria Steinem's heard the interview and suggested it as a title for her new magazine, ''Ms.''
The usage of Ms. was championed as non-sexist language beginning in the 1970s when women entered the white-collar workforce in large numbers. At that time, many women adopted ''Ms.'' to show solidarity with the feminist movement as well as to influence the attitudes of their male and female colleagues.

Usage

American

Ms. is widely used in the U.S., much more so than currently in the UK. In business correspondence, it is standard. The default use of ''Ms.'' is also championed by a number of etiquette writers, including Judith Martin (who ironically writes under the pen name '''Miss' Manners'').
Several public opponents of "non-sexist language," such as William Safire, were finally convinced that ''Ms.'' had earned a place in English by the case of Geraldine A. Ferraro. Ferraro, a United States vice presidential candidate in 1984, was a married woman who went by her birth surname rather than her husband's surname (Zaccaro). Safire pointed out that it would be equally incorrect to call her "Miss Ferraro" or "Mrs. Ferraro" — or to confuse the reader by calling her "Mrs. Zaccaro."

British

The Times (UK) states in its style guide that "Ms is nowadays fully acceptable when a woman wants to be called thus, or when it is not known for certain if she is Mrs or Miss."
The Guardian (UK) states in its style guide that: "We use whichever the woman in question prefers: with most women in public life (Ms Booth, Mrs May, Miss Widdecombe) that preference is well known; if you don't know, try to find out; if that proves impossible, use Ms."
Most women in the UK appear to still style themselves either "Miss" or "Mrs." However, in some circles the appellation is now standard, for instance in business — and where one may not know or find relevant the marital status of the woman so addressed.
''Mrs'' is still in common use socially, especially by women who have taken their husband's family name. British school children may also address female teachers as ''Miss'' regardless of marital status.

Further information

The rare plural of ''Ms.'' is ''Mses.'' However, Judith Martin advocates the use of the French "Mesdames" for addressing multiple women. It is not standard to use ''Ms.'' as a term of direct address; usually ''Ma'am'' will be used.
In other European languages, non-sexist usage in this regard usually amounts to using words more or less equivalent to ''Mrs.'' (''madame'', Fr.; ''señora'', Es.; ''senhora'', Pt.; ''signora'', It.; ''Frau'', De.; ''bean-uasal'', Ga. and Gd.) for both married and unmarried women, and whether they take their husband's name or not. This makes sense as these are usually the direct feminine equivalents of the male counterparts (''monsieur'', Fr.; ''señor'', Es.; ''senhor'', Pt.; ''signore'', It.; ''Herr'', De.; ''máistir'', Ga.; ''maighstir'', Gd.), whereas the equivalent of ''Miss'' is a diminutive of the female equivalent (''mademoiselle'', Fr.; ''señorita'', Es.; ''senhorita'', Pt.; ''signorina'', It.; ''Fräulein'', De.; ''ógbhean-uasal'', Ga.; ''maighdeann-uasal'', Gd.).

See also

★ Madam

★ Mrs.

★ Miss

★ Mr.

Notes

1. [http://www.lib.usm.edu/~spcol/crda/oh/michaels.htm "An Oral History with Sheila (Kessler) Shiki-y-Michaels", Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage (5 July 1999).
2. "Call Me Ms" ''The Guardian'' (accessed August 20, 2007)

External links

★ The Times style guide

★ The Guardian style guide