France has abolished the term Mademoiselle from all official documents because it suggests a woman is 'available'. Prime minister Francois Fillon said the word - the French equivalent of 'Miss' - discriminates against women by asking them to reveal if they are married.
In a major victory for French feminists, the change was revealed in an official decree to ministries and regional authorities. From now on, Mademoiselle should be replaced with 'Madame', the female equivalent of 'Monsieur', because it does not indicate marital status, the order said.
1 comment(s):
It would make more sense to use the British system of having a third option. On a lot of British forms you will see Miss, Mrs or Ms. Some women may want to be clear their marital status some may not.
However the stupid thing is that some of these french forms then go on to have a check box for marital status. Are they saying therefore that women (and indeed men) have no need to check the relevant box?
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