Mrs./Miss. v. Ms.

By Ms. Stephanie Atwood -

Now let's talk about Mrs. v. Ms.

This stuff is important.

Use of "Ms." as a standard, adult female title has not been around all that long. In 1972 when Gloria Steinem first published the feminist periodical MS. Magazine, the word was politically volatile and not commonly used by the general public. Ms. Steinem and other politically outspoken women have done wonderful things to advance this word to its appropriate level of use as a respectful term for adult women, without the tag of belonging to someone else through marriage. It is less common now to hear women describe themselves as "Mrs. John Doe" but as a child, I heard it often. This insidious trio of words removes the identity and any unique quality of the woman and reduces her to married, female property belonging to John Doe.

How else are we to look at this?

Thank goodness, times have changed. The term Ms. evolved from a justified concern that women should be considered with more equality and less discrimination.

But, as it seems, the use of Ms. can sometimes be misconstrued as demeaning to women.

By what authority?

NONE.

We're in law school. Seeking a professional degree.

Would it be unreasonable to ask that we behave professionally

Feminism can thank this individual for setting their cause back another decade.

If you want equality, quit playing the card.

I'm a Jew for god's sake!

Not prone to discrimination...and I was sure raised better than that.

Stay Tuned...