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| The beginning of the end for the mademoiselle? | The beginning of the end for the mademoiselle? |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| By Stephanie Holmes BBC News | |
| A town in Western France has banned the word "mademoiselle" - the French equivalent of "miss". The move comes as feminist groups campaign for the word to be consigned to the dustbin of history everywhere. Could its days be numbered? | A town in Western France has banned the word "mademoiselle" - the French equivalent of "miss". The move comes as feminist groups campaign for the word to be consigned to the dustbin of history everywhere. Could its days be numbered? |
| There are no longer any "mademoiselles" in the town of Cesson-Sevigne. | There are no longer any "mademoiselles" in the town of Cesson-Sevigne. |
| The small Brittany community has banned the use of the term in all its official documents, arguing that women, like men, should not be defined by their marital status. | The small Brittany community has banned the use of the term in all its official documents, arguing that women, like men, should not be defined by their marital status. |
| From now on, teenagers, greying grand-meres and 30-something career girls there will all be known as "madame", just as men of all ages become "monsieur" as soon as they grow out of shorts. | |
| The Germans waved goodbye to their "fraulein" in 1972. In the English-speaking world the use of "Miss" is in decline - and on occasions when an honorific is required, "Ms" provides a convenient way of avoiding being pigeon-holed as either "Miss" or "Mrs". | The Germans waved goodbye to their "fraulein" in 1972. In the English-speaking world the use of "Miss" is in decline - and on occasions when an honorific is required, "Ms" provides a convenient way of avoiding being pigeon-holed as either "Miss" or "Mrs". |
| But in France - just as in Spain with their "senorita" and Italy with their "signorina" - things are a bit different. "Madame" or "mademoiselle" can even be used to address someone in the absence of a name - "Would Madame care to be shown round the church?" a verger asks Flaubert's Madame Bovary. | |
| These forms of address are not just about formality and respect, but also about flirtation and familiarity. | These forms of address are not just about formality and respect, but also about flirtation and familiarity. |
| Doyennes of the stage and screen retain their "mademoiselle" status, regardless of how long in the tooth they are. Waiters can gently flatter a lady of a certain age by calling her "mademoiselle", and officials can patronise by refusing to call a woman "madame". | Doyennes of the stage and screen retain their "mademoiselle" status, regardless of how long in the tooth they are. Waiters can gently flatter a lady of a certain age by calling her "mademoiselle", and officials can patronise by refusing to call a woman "madame". |
| But for the mayor of Cesson-Sevigne, Michel Bihan, the key thing is eliminating "discrimination". | But for the mayor of Cesson-Sevigne, Michel Bihan, the key thing is eliminating "discrimination". |
| Elected in 2008 on a sexual equality platform, he and a group of like-minded councillors, have been transforming the town of 16,000 to change anything deemed unequal. | Elected in 2008 on a sexual equality platform, he and a group of like-minded councillors, have been transforming the town of 16,000 to change anything deemed unequal. |
| The changes have been both practical and symbolic - there are now changing rooms for women at the town's stadium and council texts use both masculine and feminine wording when women might be among the number referred to. | The changes have been both practical and symbolic - there are now changing rooms for women at the town's stadium and council texts use both masculine and feminine wording when women might be among the number referred to. |
| His slogan at the last election was "une ville pour tous" ("a town for all") though he now says it should have been "une ville pour tous et toutes", using the feminine form of the word for "all" too. | His slogan at the last election was "une ville pour tous" ("a town for all") though he now says it should have been "une ville pour tous et toutes", using the feminine form of the word for "all" too. |
| "It just seemed like the natural step for us. It is symbolic - a signal, a gesture, but one among many," he said of the decision to ditch "mademoiselle". | "It just seemed like the natural step for us. It is symbolic - a signal, a gesture, but one among many," he said of the decision to ditch "mademoiselle". |
| It's not the first time a French municipality has taken such a step. The city of Rennes, close to Cesson-Sevigne but far larger, officially dropped the word in 2007. But this time there is also a national campaign by feminist groups against "mademoiselle". | It's not the first time a French municipality has taken such a step. The city of Rennes, close to Cesson-Sevigne but far larger, officially dropped the word in 2007. But this time there is also a national campaign by feminist groups against "mademoiselle". |
| They want Madame to be de-coupled from the idea of a married woman or wife to become, like Monsieur, a general term of address. | They want Madame to be de-coupled from the idea of a married woman or wife to become, like Monsieur, a general term of address. |
| Women can buy badges with the "mademoiselle" option crossed out and are encouraged to download a letter to their electricity provider or bank informing them why wish to be called "madame". | Women can buy badges with the "mademoiselle" option crossed out and are encouraged to download a letter to their electricity provider or bank informing them why wish to be called "madame". |
| But why, others have argued, should we fret over the linguistic cosmetics of which box on a form gets ticked when key issues such as equal pay, availability of child-care and political representation remain bigger practical obstacles to a fully equal society? | But why, others have argued, should we fret over the linguistic cosmetics of which box on a form gets ticked when key issues such as equal pay, availability of child-care and political representation remain bigger practical obstacles to a fully equal society? |
| Professor of applied linguistics Dr Penelope Gardner-Chloros, of Birkbeck University, says that a society's language - and how it chooses its terms of address - can reflect deeply ingrained attitudes. | Professor of applied linguistics Dr Penelope Gardner-Chloros, of Birkbeck University, says that a society's language - and how it chooses its terms of address - can reflect deeply ingrained attitudes. |
| "[Language] it is a sensitive indicator of the distinctions that a society makes - so if it is important to know if a woman is married or not, then it will be indicated in language," she explains. | "[Language] it is a sensitive indicator of the distinctions that a society makes - so if it is important to know if a woman is married or not, then it will be indicated in language," she explains. |
| The word "Madame" comes from the French word for "woman" ("dame") but Prof Gardner-Chloros points out that "mademoiselle" comes from the word for "damsel" ("demoiselle"). | The word "Madame" comes from the French word for "woman" ("dame") but Prof Gardner-Chloros points out that "mademoiselle" comes from the word for "damsel" ("demoiselle"). |
| "'Mademoiselle' was a courteous title and there was even a male equivalent - 'Mondamoiseau', though it was very rarely used," she says. (The word "damoiseau" can be translated as "squire".) | "'Mademoiselle' was a courteous title and there was even a male equivalent - 'Mondamoiseau', though it was very rarely used," she says. (The word "damoiseau" can be translated as "squire".) |
| More equal societies tend to put less emphasis on regulating forms of address. In English, "Miss" and "Mrs" are both abbreviations of the same word - "mistress" - but Britain too had its own polite and less polite forms of personal pronoun. | More equal societies tend to put less emphasis on regulating forms of address. In English, "Miss" and "Mrs" are both abbreviations of the same word - "mistress" - but Britain too had its own polite and less polite forms of personal pronoun. |
| "It was 'you' and 'thou' - but 'thou' was the less formal one. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, when he gets angry he tells Ophelia to 'Get thee to a nunnery,' using the impolite form, at other points he addresses her with the word 'you'," Prof Gardner-Chloros says. | "It was 'you' and 'thou' - but 'thou' was the less formal one. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, when he gets angry he tells Ophelia to 'Get thee to a nunnery,' using the impolite form, at other points he addresses her with the word 'you'," Prof Gardner-Chloros says. |
| Language, she says, can sometimes drag its feet behind social norms. The adjustment with "fraulein" came in Germany in the 1970s, and it may be that the same is beginning now in France. | Language, she says, can sometimes drag its feet behind social norms. The adjustment with "fraulein" came in Germany in the 1970s, and it may be that the same is beginning now in France. |