Pet hate - being asked for a title

theoretica

Dill wrote: »

As a neologism, it's taken from the letters common to Miss and Mrs. It works well in print, but the pronunciation is a bit stilted, which is possibly why there is still no single codified way of pronouncing it (?) Some say Mizz, some say Mzz, some say Muzz.

Miss and Mrs are both forms of Mistress which used to be used for women regardless of married status. Maybe we should reclaim Mistress.

missbiggles1

Dill wrote: »

I don't think so, because that's just a shortening, which people do to words all the time, as opposed to coining a new word. Something that's easier to say or easier on the ears will catch on more quickly.

It did sound a bit odd when it was first introduced in modern times but it's been round now for over 40 years so I can't see how people can't be used to it. Just like miss and mrs, it is, after all, just an abbreviation of mistress and dates back to the same period.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ms.

balletshoes

toffeentom wrote: »

Does this annoy any other females out there?

nope, but its just a word, it could be any word for me.

takman

I'm finding this thread quite amusing especially the comments from people who find woman's titles sexist and how people are offended if a stranger uses their first name or the wrong title!.

Personally it doesn't bother me what I'm called and that can be Mr, Sir, My First Name or My full name. Sometimes people call me the short version of my first name or the full version. I've even had someone all me by a shortened version of my last name since I first met them (which I found slightly amusing).
As long as the person isn't trying to be offensive then I'm happy!.

When it comes to woman's titles I never really use them at all. At my workplace we call each other by their first name no matter who they are and I have never heard of any problems with that. If I see or hear a name with a title of Mrs, Miss, Ms etc I never even consider their marital status. Two woman I know well both use Mrs as a title are not married and one has never been married. So you can never assume anything from just a title!.

Tuesday_Tenor

[I'm a female tenor, by the way].

Quakers have traditionally not used titles for centuries. In testimony to equality and plain speaking, everyone is just <first name> <surname>.

This is the practice that I prefer, and HAD used most of my life.

So it is now mildly annoying that I can no longer do so.

In the computer age it is seldom possible to leave the 'Title field' blank. It returns an 'invalid title field' error. I reluctantly opt for Ms.

I tried opting for Other. Then I got correspondence addressed to

Other Tuesday Tenor :rotfl:

Yes, it mildly irritates me that my preference has been taken away. But short of writing to every company/department/computer system that I have contact with, I don't think there's anything I can do about it.

There's progress for you.

moneyistooshorttomention

Noctu wrote: »

It annoys me.

I'd also prefer to be asked for my title rather than just 'is it Miss or Mrs'. My title is Dr, so being asked simply for my title avoids me having to correct them from the Miss/Mrs thing, and looking uppity in the process. (Or the reply that their system can't handle Dr, and I would have to choose another title...)

That has its own confusions - as whenever someone says they are Dr Smith for instance I assume that's exactly what they are = a person with the surname smith and they are a doctor (ie medical doctor and I could make an appointment with them).

I get very confused by people saying they are Doctor x - when they dont work as a doctor. I dont think its common to call oneself Dr - unless one is a doctor (but I used to know two academics who both called themselves Dr John X and Dr Richard X respectively).

Now I've got some symptoms I'm wondering about...:rotfl:

Nick_C

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

That has its own confusions - as whenever someone says they are Dr Smith for instance I assume that's exactly what they are = a person with the surname smith and they are a doctor (ie medical doctor and I could make an appointment with them).

I get very confused by people saying they are Doctor x - when they dont work as a doctor.

You need to educate yourself as to what the title "Doctor" actually means!

Pollycat

Person_one wrote: »

Don't feel you have to stay up and keep posting if you're too tired.

It wasn't tiredness but boredom.

I changed my surname 42 years ago when I got married for the first time.

When I got divorced 11 years later I kept my married surname.

When I got remarried 6 years after that I changed my surname to that of my husband.

I was OK with being called 'Miss' before I got married.
I was OK with being called 'Mrs' when I was married and when I was divorced.
TBH, it wouldn't have bothered me in the slightest what someone called me - unless it was rude.

I'm not sure why you wanted to know but you now do.
How much sexual discrimination can you spot in there?

Bobcrowther

Oh good, another feminazi wanting to erode our traditional values.
Same with religion, same with disabilities.
Soon we won't be able to say anything for fear of offending. We may as well all be grey homogenous blobs.
Sorry, that was offensive to non grey blobs of a different shape.

missbiggles1

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

That has its own confusions - as whenever someone says they are Dr Smith for instance I assume that's exactly what they are = a person with the surname smith and they are a doctor (ie medical doctor and I could make an appointment with them).

I get very confused by people saying they are Doctor x - when they dont work as a doctor. I dont think its common to call oneself Dr - unless one is a doctor (but I used to know two academics who both called themselves Dr John X and Dr Richard X respectively).

Now I've got some symptoms I'm wondering about...:rotfl:

Why would you assume that someone whose title's Dr was a medical doctor?