It seems odd to me that it’s 2010 and women have to choose between Mrs., Ms., and Miss while men are just Mr. This has to be particularly confusing for kids, who always have to remember which prefix to address their teacher:
Boy – Mrs. Dougherty?
Teacher – Ms. Dougherty
Boy – Oh, why isn’t it Mrs. like all the other female teachers?
Teacher – Because I’m not married, I’m single.
Boy – Okay, well I actually wish I didn’t know that information – was just checking to see if I can use the bathroom – don’t really care if you’re single or not, gross.
Is this not extremely sexist? No matter what, dudes are “Mr.” If your first grade gym teacher was male and married, he was Mr. Myers. If he was male and single, he was creepy Mr. Myers. But no matter what, he’s always Mr. Myers. And as a kid, you know you’re not supposed to say the “creepy” part out loud. Furthermore, the creepy is something that you have to figure out on your own. Is this really fair to kids?
It’s high time for women to pick one prefix and stick to it. Where are my feminists at? Ten year olds don’t need to know their teacher’s marital status. My vote is for “Ms.” It’s short and simple, like Mr. If you want people to know you’re married, just say – “Oh hey, btw…I’m married.” Great. Nobody cares.
