Example, Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

I hate this for the obvious reasons but it’s especially annoying to me because my wife didn’t take my surname!

    • Letme@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Absolutely not, it applies in either direction, universally. I am Mr (wife) (wife’s maiden name), this is how the language works. Why is this offensive to YOU?

      • thepreciousboar@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        That’s not how language works, that’s how culture works. Mrs and mr are referred to you, not relatively to your spouse. I am Mr John Smith, even if I’m married to Mrs Amy White. Amy is not Mrs Smith and John is not Mrs White. They are Mr Smith and Mrs White. In the usa for some reason it’s custom that the woman changes surname to that of his husband, in many other places it was like that in the past but ia not anymore

        • Letme@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Per Debretts, it has been this way since at least the 1700s, not an “American” thing as you suggest. I’m starting to think this is just another social issue used to divide America, ie propaganda used to control people. And if it is purely preference in etiquette, what are you complaining about? The person sending the letter are allowed to exercise their etiquette preferences as well, right? Or do you also want to control people? Is this all just the fascists on the right vs the facisists on the left? This is how people like Trump rise to populisim, and how freedom and democracy die.