I resent havng to do this. I want to use my name...my plain old unvarnished name...without a "Mrs." or "Ms. or "Miss" to it. Just the name. The choice of a prefix carries with it a host of assumptions for women. That you are married (or not), that you are a rebellious feminist (or not.) "Ms" is still seen as an evasion of marital status (I've been told 'If you don't mind being married, you shouldn't mind being "Mrs.") Well, but the correct use of "Mrs" is with the husband's name. "Mrs. John Doe" not "Mrs Jane Doe". Unless of course Jane is divorced, and even then she is supposed to use her maiden name instead of her given name "Mrs. Smith Doe."
And it's stupid. There is no legitimate reason for my political representatives (especially since they never represent MY views) to have a prefix from which to make their analytical assumptions. "Oh, well, toss that one--it's a feminist, obviously..." or "I guess we ought to read this one--it's a mizzus--but wait, she used her own first name, she's probably a feminist trying to pretend to be married."
Mind you, the use of the prefix doesn't guarantee any respect, as one might hope. A Mr. Doe will be addressed as Mr. Doe. A Mrs. Doe, with her prefix clearly written on her letter/application/other document is very likely to be (depending on her age and degree of pulchritude) addressed as honey, sweetie, hon, or her first name if it's known. And a truncated form of it, at that. If the prefix actually resulted in respectful treatment, it might be worth it. But it doesn't.
And I've just fought my way through a couple more of these darn things. I am not a Mrs. I am not a Ms. I am who I am. The name alone should be enough. (When forced to it by the stupid forms, I either alternate for a few days, or pick the one I think will do the most good at that site.)
