Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
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Path: utzoo!dciem!mmt
From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Miss/Mrs/Ms
Message-ID: <413@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 27-Sep-83 17:44:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: dciem.413
Posted: Tue Sep 27 17:44:43 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Sep-83 12:47:23 EDT
References: <278@auvax.UUCP>
Organization: D.C.I.E.M, Toronto, Canada
Lines: 23

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As I see it, the only use to forms of address is to indicate to the
listener that we are being polite.  Perhaps, in the best of all
possible worlds, a "you, to-whom-I-am-being-polite" would serve.
===============

We might be learning more from the Japanese, then, than just how to
make 5th generation computers and silly radios :-). They have lots
of forms of "you, to-whom-I-am-being-polite" depending on who "you"
are and who "I" am -- whether it is polite by condescension, by
necessity (or "I" might get my head chopped off) and so forth.

I like the idea of just "M. Smith". Who cares whether the person is
male or female if the matters under discussion are just business?
If this is confusable with "Malcolm Smith" or "Marylin Smith",
why not use "Mx. Smith" instead. Mx might be less explosive.

There might be a problem in how to pronounce Mx. If Ms is Mizz,
perhaps Mx is Mix. I don't think I like that. "Maestre" sound
better, and could be imagined to be some kind of Kultivated
version of Master or Mistress, just as are Mr, Miss, Mrs, and Ms.

Mx. M. Taylor