confused on what Ms. means?

Question

i looked up what Ms. meant and they said in wilkipedia dictionary that it was equivalent to Mr. because feminists felt that woman should not have to put their marital status if men don't. my mom says it means a divorced woman. can someone shed light on this?

Answer 1

Your mother is wrong, it has nothing to do with divorce. It came into use as a feminist reaction to men always being Mister whether they are married or single and women being labelled as Miss or Mrs and having to advertise their marital status.
Ms can be used by single or married women.
Im many European langages this is not a problem as the word for Miss is only used for young women and adult women whether married or not are called Mrs.

Answer 2

Your mom is partly right...

Miss = designates a woman who has never married.

Mrs. = This is actually sort of tricky because there are a few ways to use Mrs. The first is the traditional married woman, formally written as Mrs. Robert Smith. Mrs. can also indicate a divorced woman if is it used as "Mrs. Susan Smith". The use of her first name and not the husband's first name indicates she is divorced. Mrs. can also signify a widowed woman (her husband died) and it is written the same as when she was married, "Mrs. Robert Smith".

Ms. is anonymous. It can be used for any woman of any age, of any marital status. It is meant to be equivalent to Mr., which also does not designate marital status. It is commonly used in the business world where marital status is not important and really irrelevant.

Situations can also dictate which pronoun is used: I would like to receive a formal invitation like a wedding invitation addressed to Mrs. Robert Smith, but a business letter addressed to Ms. Susan Smith.

Answer 3

The word Ms..represents a title for both a single woman and married woman, or a divorcee...it is the safest and most polite title to call even married ones or divorcees especially if in the physical looks one can never be sure if they are married or not..it is always safe and couteoes to say Ms...........but n ot males..if americans say Mr for all kinds of titles or status........for males maried or unmarried..the word Ms..is applicable this way too to put the person (if divorcee) to feel better about herself..oh for the british they call the men Esquire....

Answer 4

I always learned that Ms. was a polite way to address a person I either know is married, or once was married, or an older woman. If you don't know, it's polite to say "Miss." FYI, the proper title for a young man is "Master," so there is a male equivalent of "Miss."

Answer 5

Yes. Ms is an abbreviation of Miss that's used to deal with an single girl or younger lady. Mrs is abbreviation of Missus, that's used for married girl. Mr is for guy, married or now not, younger or ancient. Ms = Miss Mrs = Missus Mr = Mister Edit: Geezer Geek, thanks! =) I seemed it up and it sounds as if, Ms (mentioned as miz) can be utilized for each married or single girl (or widow). Mrs (missus) approach "spouse of." Miss is for younger lady. Mister is for male. Best reply will have to pass to Geezer Geek. Again, thank you, Mister! ;D

Answer 6

With all due respect to your mother, she is mistaken. "Ms." is properly used by any woman who doesn't want to reveal her marital status.

Divorced women have the choice of Mrs., Miss, or Ms.

Answer 7

Ms. is equivalent to Mr. Sorry, but your mom is wrong this time.

Answer 8

for me, i think of ms. as a safety net. it's something that you can use for a woman if you don't know if she's married or single or not.

one thing you might like to know, in germany, they're trying to get rid of frauline, which is the equivalent of miss. unless you're a child, you would be called frau instead.

Answer 9

It's a feminist issue. I myself don't mind going by Miss, but some women do feel it reflects society judging you by whether or not you have a man.

Answer 10

if you dont know if some one is married or single, (woman). then you address them as Ms.., Miss is usually used if you are not married. and MRS.is used if you are married.