peg@ihuxs.UUCP (09/23/83)
When i was a little girl, my mother, in an attempt to school me in the old fashioned ways of etiquette before the "hippies" and other such worldly influences got to me, told me that a young boy is addressed as "Master" until he is twelve years old. Perhaps this was started to differentiate the boy from his father if he was a junior... Maybe "Miss" could serve the same purpose... for all young girls until they are about 12 years old or so (the approximate time when children start becoming more adultlike)... Ms. could be used for all other women, with married women still opting for the use of Mrs. if they so wished. Well, it's a try, isn't it??? Not as polished and refined as i look, Peg Streff ihnp4!ihuxs!peg BTL Naperville, IL.
ntt@dciem.UUCP (Mark Brader) (09/27/83)
When I was single, I wanted to abolish ALL these "titles*", and I tried never to use "Mr." for myself. However, when married people share the same surname, it is sometimes convenient to refer to "Mr. & Mrs. X". So my ideal goes like this: "Mr." is restricted to married men. "Mr." and "Mrs." are both used only in social-type contexts where marital status or pairing is important. In every other context, use first names; or when being formal, last name only. Many newspapers have style guides that specify referring to a man the first time by full name without "title", and subsequently by last name only; some even do do it for women, I think. So it's not as odd an idea as it sounds. When "Ms." first came out it sounded really offensive to me, as if the person was ashamed of their marital status and couldn't bring themself--er, herself-- to use her first name. I've mellowed, though. *This term may do in America, but in Britain a you only have a "title" if you are a "Sir" or a "Lord" or ... ; the best alternative I've seen is "handle", used by Phil Eastman of the Univ. of Waterloo, which encompassed "Dr." also. Mark Brader, NTT Systems Inc.