Ms.

Today, I had to apply for a DBS (the 'new' CRB- I need one for swimming!). That's kind of interesting, I guess. However, the thing that I'm blogging about is a much smaller part of that whole thing- that, for the first time ever, I registered myself as a 'Ms' as opposed to a 'Miss'. What's the difference? Well, 'Miss' refers to an unmarried female; when a woman gets married, she takes her husband's name and becomes a 'Mrs'. Meanwhile, males are born as 'Mr (Sirname)' and stay that their whole lives. There are various problems with this. In a nutshell, it implies possession- men are allowed to be their own person, with their own sirname. Women, however, keep their father's sirname, with the title 'Miss', until they take their husband's sirname, when they become 'Mrs'. Either way, they do not have their own sirname; they are merely a derivative. Using 'Ms' means that the sirname isn't changed, and means that women can reclaim this somewhat. In addition, the whole thing with women being identified as married or unmarried just due to their title is something I don't get. What's the point? Women are being reduced to their relationship status, and, more importantly, to their other (male) halves. This really really annoys me. Call me radical, but I've always seen women as being people in their own right, deserving of their own names that denote them as nothing more than their own person. On a further point, the word 'Miss' often has connotations with weakness etc., relating both to gender and to the state of being 'without husband'. Like, what even?!
I decided a long, long time ago- before I even knew what feminism was, or that it was a thing- that I would keep my name when I got married (if I ever get married, but this is a discussion for another day). Deciding that, from now on, I am a 'Ms' is just a logical progression from that, really. I am my own person, with my own name, and I feel that 'Ms' reflects this far more aptly than 'Miss', just waiting to be made into a 'Mrs'.
How do I feel about this decision? Very happy, very very empowered, and strangely grown up!