Well, this is the fight against sexism taken to a whole new level. The word “Mademoiselle” has been banned from all official documents in the French suburb of Cesson-Sévigné, in Rennes. Formerly regarded simply as the title given to an unmarried woman, the term is now considered sexist, apparently. This would probably be fine if it didn’t make the French language even more confusing than it already is.

Two feminist groups in France, Osez la Féminisme (meaning “Dare Feminism”) and Les Chiennes de Garde (“Guard Dogs”) have been campaigning for this move for quite some time. They claim “Mademoiselle” is sexist and condescending, deriving from the word “virgin” and now pretty much meaning “damsel” (presumably, in distress).

It also differentiates unmarried women from married, whereas the language did away with the equivalent unmarried title for men (“Damoiseau”) ages ago and now sticks only to “Monsieur,” or “Mr”. The groups claim that “Mademoiselles” are taken less seriously in the workplace than married “Madame” counterparts.

Mon dieu, but this is truly the sign of meaningful feminism in action, n’est-ce pas? It’s only a matter of time until the term is removed from the French dictionary, one would imagine.

[Source: Time]