法国官方文件淘汰“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。法国总理弗朗索瓦·菲永已经下令所有地区与地方政府，将用来称呼未婚女性、且带有稚嫩不成熟意味的“小姐”称谓从官方文件上移除。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。法国妇女团体表示“小姐”这一称谓有性别歧视意味，让人联想到早期，女性的掌管权从父亲手中传到丈夫手中的情景。

Official French documents will no longer force women to reveal their marital status 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 immaturity -- from official documents.

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

The change, signed in a memo 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 lesser status.

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

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

Fillon noted that various government forms contained terms "referring, without justification 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 joint campaign in September as a reminder that "the Madame/Mademoiselle distinction ... is a sign of standard sexism that endures in our society."

"Far from being flattering, the title "Mademoiselle" obliges women to divulge 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."