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| Read below which one to use when |
Ah. This English as a language is killing us. We are now discussing the different honorifics that we encounter on a daily basis, with a hope that, from now on, they won't baffle us.
First, let’s talk about some gender non-specific honorifics. We have Rev. and Hon. Usually Rev.—the symbol for reverence—is put before the name of a person who is highly revered. It is the short form of Reverend and more often it is allocated for the people who are involved in the religious duties of a Christian Church. However, its use is broadening now. For example, the staff of an organization may use Rev. before the name of the chairman of the organization. The hon. is an abbreviation for honorable and is used before the head of any governmental entity in a broader sense; for example Minister or Embassy. When we use HRH, we would be indicating that the person in context is from a royal family but if we write its full form it may unfold to become gender-specific: his royal highness or her royal highness.
So, let’s focus on the fours. Miss: we don’t use a period after Miss when we are addressing a person. It is for those female personalities who are unmarried. So in this word, two information is leaking at the same time: the person is female and she is unmarried.
If a woman is married, we are fond of using Mrs. in front of her name, with a period at last. A woman’s marital status is clearly known from this honorific. It’s the abbreviation of Mistress—so the period.
There are certain women, and their numbers are increasing, who rather hide their marital status. These women use Ms. before their names. It has a period at last even though it’s not an abbreviation. Hence Ms. declares only the gender, not her status. The feminists advocate that all women should use this honorific because they believe Miss and Mrs. do not do justice to them while their male counterpart is enjoying with Mr. that does not divulge the marital status. So they assert Ms. is equivalent to Mr. for women. Also, the married women who use Ms. tend to avoid the surname of their husband after the name. They are happy with the paternal surname. This word finds more applicability for divorcee and widower because it may indirectly mean that the woman is welcoming to start a relationship. There are many women who have shifted from writing Mrs. to Ms. after divorce or husband’s death. Clearly, this honorific shows more freedom to the woman who is independent.
And yes people might sometimes be confused Ms. with M/s. In a formal letter, when you don’t know the name, gender and the designation of the institutional head, then you use simply M/s with no period. The name of the organization or company follows afterward. So, it is a gender-neutral term.
There is yet another weird—as I say it—honorific in use in the recent lexicons and that is Mx. It is the only honorific that can be shared by every human being on the planet. When we use Mx. with a period, at last, we just mean there is someone and we don’t know whether it is male, female or other. There are human beings in the mother earth who we cannot neglect. They prefer a separate identity from the rest of others. LGBTQ community is ever on the rise and they are neither he nor she. So, Mx. finds its immense importance here too.
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