Hi readers, it’s Emily and William here this week talking about our titles, as in Mr, Mrs, Miss and Ms, and if they are necessary anymore?
It got us thinking about say, when you have to fill a form, perhaps for something like the dentist or bank, you are almost always asked for your title. While men only have one option, Mr, the title of a woman in most cases tells people about her marital status.
We then wondered if that matters? Our first thought was that if a woman shares she is Ms or Miss, would it make her more vulnerable, as it’s much more likely she is single and perhaps lives on her own? That is information which you would not want to get in the wrong hands.
We also talked about if a person’s title matters any more in many situations? Also, does it discriminate between men and women, where most women are declaring their marital status by sharing a title, but Mr could mean any marital status.
What is also annoying is that often forms won’t let you go to the next box unless you answer that question, so you have to put something in even if you don’t want to.
We came to the conclusion that we think it’s time to drop this Mr, Mrs or Miss thing. But if all men are Mr, what could all women be? Madam? It’s hard to think of something else! Maybe we only need to use our first and last names. If marital status needs to be known, ask if they are single or married, or for gender, ask if they are male, female, prefer not to say or have an option to choose what they type.
What do you think readers? Shall we start a campaign?!
The writers of the Our View column are supported in their editing by People First Dorset - a charity led and run by people with learning disabilities with support from staff