[twigs]

Properly, divorced women are Mrs. if they continue to use their married name. Married women who use their maiden name are called Miss. I loathe Ms. but did find it useful in business when I did not know the marital status of the woman to whom I was writing.

[longtermmemmory]

One of the most pleasant laywers I have had to work with was a older woman who said to feel free to use "Mrs." for any formal corespondance. She was graciously advising of her preference.

It may be useful for out situation of unknown status but there is every social benefit for a woman to use Mrs. or Miss.

(avoid women with hyphens. Important rule of self preservation)

[GovernmentShrinker]

Lots of single women prefer not to advertise their unmarried status to the hordes of unknown men they deal with in a typical day, whether through their jobs or as consumers. This writer is rambling and confused, and totally fails to make her point. If men don't need to advertise their marital status with different titles, in order to prevent "desexualizing men and destroying the family structure", then women don't either. Plenty of families have been destroyed by the affairs of a husband, whose playmate(s) believed him to be unmarried -- a much easier scam for a man to pull off, given the traditional one-size-fits-all male title.

[July 4th]

I loathe Ms. but did find it useful in business when I did not know the marital status of the woman to whom I was writing.

Yes...looking for jobs this month, and sending out about 150 cover letters, Ms. is the only way to go. That's me calling someone else "Ms." however. If someone uses it to describe themselves, then it takes on a whole new meaning.