法国官方文件将禁弃用“小姐”称谓

法国官方文件不再要求女性选择“小姐”或“女士”的称谓来透露她们的婚姻状态。今后，人们在填写政府文件时，只能选择“女士”或“先生”这两个称谓。

Official French documents will no longer force women to reveal their marital¹ status（婚姻状态） by requiring them to choose the title Mademoiselle or Madame.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has ordered all regional and local governments to remove the title "Mademoiselle" -- used for unmarried women and implying a youthful immaturity² -- from official documents.

From now on, people filling out government forms will get just two choices: Madame or Monsieur.

The change, signed in a memo³ to regional and local governments by Fillon this week, comes after lobbying from women's groups who argued that Mademoiselle is sexist. Its male equivalent -- Monsieur -- does not distinguish marital status.

Mademoiselle also carries connotations of youth and immaturity, making it potentially problematic for unmarried women after a certain age, and confers a lesser⁴ status.

Chanel's "Coco Mademoiselle" for example, is for example is described as a lighter⁵, fresher version of the original Coco.

Respondents on official documents will also no longer be asked to supply their maiden⁶ names, their father's last name, or the name of their husbands.

Fillon noted⁷ that various government forms contained terms "referring, without justification⁸ or need, to the marital status of women." When forms are next printed, those titles must be eliminated, he wrote.

Two groups, Osez le Feminisme (Dare for Feminism) and Les Chiennes de Garde (The (female) Guard Dogs) began a joint⁹ campaign in September as a reminder¹⁰ that "the Madame/Mademoiselle distinction ... is a sign of standard sexism（性别歧视） that endures in our society."

"Far from being flattering, the title "Mademoiselle" obliges women to divulge¹¹（泄露） their private life, as if marriage conferred a superior value on women," wrote the campaign.

"It's a reminder of the time when women passed, through marriage, from the authority of their fathers to the authority of their husbands."