Ce n’est pas une mademoiselle

by Kristal Bivona

French Prime Minister François Fillon has done away with the title Mademoiselle on all official French documents, answering the requests of women’s groups who complained that the male title Monsieur fails to indicate French men’s marital status while women were forced to share their marital statuses by choosing Mademoiselle for single women and Madame for married women. From this point on, Madame and Monsieur will be the only titular choices on official documents.

In addition, women will no longer have to divulge their maiden names or the names of their fathers or husbands on official documents. French men and women will now be required to give equal amounts of personal data in an attempt to assuage inequality and patriarchy.

Aside from clarifying the marital status of women, Mademoiselle also implies youth and inexperience, which unfairly labels unmarried women of all ages.