Although I must say that "Her Royal Highness the Empress Hanne" has a nice ring to it.

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Hanne Blank
Co-Editor, Scarleteen

Well, I don't prefer anyhting. Just call me whatever you want. Mud will do .

When I was in kindergarten, I remember that the title Ms. was kind of a secret. Like, you were keeping a secret as to whether you were married or not. Ahh, the education sysytem.......

For younger unmarried males. I don't think its commonly used these days, for obvious reasons. ;p

I can understand a woman not wanting to be judged/evaluated based upon her marital status. I wouldn't, either.

I would put Mrs., or all the correct stuff in writing though. But orally, I say the MS or MR.

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"No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap."
--Carrie Snow

"A mistake is simply another way of doing things."
--Katharine Graham

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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I need my conscience to keep watch over me
To protect me from myself
So I can wear honesty like a crown on my head
When I walk into the promised land

Honestly, I absolutely cringe when we get junk mail here that refers to me a Mrs. Brian -----(my husbands last name).

While I am very glad to be with my partner, being identified not as who I am, but as the person married to them with no identity of her own -- and lemme tell ya, he never gets any mail like that with them using my name in that way -- makes me ill and I find it increidibly sexist and insulting, which is why I have my name and he has his name. If and when we have kids, they'll be having both of our names, or some combination of them.

Ms. works fine for me. Miz does, too. But in the best of all possible worlds, I prefer just being called "Heather." I have a name, I don't need an arbitrary title.

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Heather Corinna
Editor and Founder, Scarleteen

~KittenGoddess

When I was young I always wondered how you pronounced Ms. How is it pronounced?

And you can have twenty doctorate degrees, and if you get married, you'll STILL get Mrs. John Smith mail.

But only if you're female, because you know, only women get the sheer pleasure of being seen as their husbands' property.

And I know what you mean about it being weird when women use their husband's first and last name. At work, I used to see alot of older women who had that on their credit cards and signed that as their signature. That would be really strange to me, kinda like completely giving up your identity. Although I dunno...I have a friend who is from India, and her middle name is the same as her dad's first name, and when she gets married, her middle name will be changed to her husband's first name. I don't think I'll really be bothered by taking my husband's last name, but if I have to take anymore of his name than that...well you may as well just brand it on my butt or something so then you could tell who I belonged to, but there'd be no messy paperwork to fill out. But then that's just my opinion.

~KittenGoddess

From the Associated Press Stylebook:
"courtesy titles Refer to both men and women by first and last name: Susan Smith or Robert Smith. Do not use the courtesy titles Mr., Miss, Ms., or Mrs. except in direct quotations, or where needed to distinguish among people of the same last name (as in married couples or brothers and sisters), or where a woman specifically requests that a title be used (for example, where a woman prefers to be known as Mrs. Susan Smith or Mrs. Robert Smith.) In cases where a person's gender is not clear from the first name or from the story's context, indecate the gender by using he or she in a subsequent reference."

Personally, I feel that they should be dropped altogether, and I'd like to question any woman who would rather be known as Mrs. Robert Smith than by her own name. Ugh.

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~lemming, Scarleteen Advocate

Maybe when Im married it will be different. Who knows?!