Mistress HankyPants

So today I had to decide on a title. For me! My admission ceremony is coming up soon, and apart from the admin fees costing a pretty penny and running around getting bits of paper stamped and signed by important people, I had to choose the title I would be announced with on the day: Ms, Miss or Mrs. The latter is out, for obvious reasons. But it begs the question...why is there still this distinction between married and unmarried?

Having done a little research on the web (i.e. I skim read wikipedia), it turns out that Ms was coined for use when people were unsure whether a woman was married or unmarried. A sort of catch-all phrase to avoid embarrassment.

Written in 1901:
"There is a void in the English language which, with some diffidence, we undertake to fill. Every one has been put in an embarrassing position by ignorance of the status of some woman. To call a maiden Mrs is only a shade worse than to insult a matron with the inferior title Miss. Yet it is not always easy to know the facts... Now, clearly, what is needed is a more comprehensive term which does homage to the sex without expressing any views as to their domestic situation, and what could be simpler or more logical than the retention of what the two doubtful terms have in common. The abbreviation "Ms" is simple, it is easy to write, and the person concerned can translate it properly according to circumstances. For oral use it might be rendered as "Mizz," which would be a close parallel to the practice long universal in many bucolic regions, where a slurred Mis' does duty for Miss and Mrs alike."

So I was thinking, why haven't we reached the point where there IS only one title for women, like there are for men? Why can't we all be Ms? In the 1950s (even before feminists adopted the term) there was a movement to adopt the term Ms for all communications. But many women preferred the old distinctions between Miss and Mrs. And so they stuck. And we haven't moved on from there. It turns out lots of women like their marital status to be broadcast. Or is it that according to Chi Chi (said with toungue firmly in cheek), men rule the world regardless of their marital status. OR is that we have the freedom to choose to broadcast whether we're married, unmarried, or just mysterious (and possibly a feminazi...jokes!). Freedom of choice or male domination? Thoughts, anyone?

Speaking of freedom to choose, for $23,000 and five years of my life, I'd like the option of Lady, thanks. Or Mistress Bunny Knickers. How about Ms Demeanour?