alt Hacker News> Both Mr. Huang and Ms. Powell are married to other people
Dumb language question: if Powell is married, why isn’t she referred to as Mrs. Powell in this article?
Replies
Ms. is the not-so-new address that is agnostic about the married status of the woman.
Many people find it demeaning to address women differently depending on whether or not they are married, especially when we don't do the same for men.
> It is generally considered polite to address a woman by Ms. rather than Mrs., unless the preference of the woman in question is clearly known. This is especially true in written communication, as dictated by professional etiquette.[1]
> [Ms. is] intended as a default form of address for women regardless of marital status. [2]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs. [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ms.
A married woman may not have taken her husband's name. Mrs. implies it while Ms. is neutral.
> if Powell is married, why isn’t she referred to as Mrs. Powell in this article?
Because she is about to be single?
"Mrs." is falling out of style. I kind of get it. "Mistress" is a loaded word, if you think about it.
Ms. is just a safe neutral default.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs.#Modern_usage
“It is generally considered polite to address a woman by Ms. rather than Mrs., unless the preference of the woman in question is clearly known. This is especially true in written communication, as dictated by professional etiquette. […] It is normally considered correct to address a woman as Ms. [Lastname], regardless of her marital status.”