There currently is a debate in France about the use of the term “mademoiselle” (Miss). Feminists, backed by the famous movement “Osez le Féminisme“, claim it is condescending and shows gender inequality, and thus should be banned from our dictionary in favour of the use of “Madame” (Mrs). You can visit the official website of the campaign.
I thought that debate was very interesting, here’s my point of view:
- I’ll start by saying that we may not be aware of the gender inequalities in our society, but they do exist. This kind of debate may seem a little “far-fetched” but it is essential to put into consideration these aspects of our life to make things and people evolve and wonder about what really is.
- “Miss” originally means “unmarried” and thus “virgin“. This is simple: why would anyone want to make this distinction today? Unmarried doesn’t mean virgin anymore, so the term “miss” is basically obsolete.
- Then, men aren’t subject to this distinction, men are not judged upon their marital situation, why should women be? Maybe because even today women’s capacities are judged only on their relation to men, because we apparently aren’t worth anything without them. Our credibility shouldn’t rely on whether we are with a man or not.
- I agree that many people aren’t aware of the original meaning of the word since it’s more a habit than anything else, but changing wrong habits is a way to evolve. Besides, women’s credibility is sometimes altered by the use of this term, meaning they’re often seen as teenagers, silly, or simply incompetent.
- And finally, I think people criticize too easily this kind of initiative saying it’s not important, that they should focus on something else, but making us think about what our daily habits hide is the best way to rethink our behaviour and change into a healthy and equal one.
