Mom praises 8-year-old son's pointed response to an outdated test question: 'Worksheet mic drop'

A proud mom took to Twitter to share her young son's simple yet pointed response to an inherently sexist question. For the longest time, women have been assigned titles like Miss, Ms. and Mrs. based on their age and relationship status. However, this isn't the case for men as "mister" is widely used to refer to them in a formal way.

Stephanie Parks Taylor shared how her 8-year-old had a very interesting answer to a question related to these titles on his worksheet. The youngster had been asked whether or not a woman in a drawing was a "Miss, Ms. or Mrs.?"

The worksheet featured drawings of three women: Sarah, who is "under age 18" and jumping rope, Mary, who is holding a sign that says, "unmarried or unknown marital status" and Lara, who is holding up her hand with an arrow pointing to her ring finger. Below Lara's photo, there is a text that reads: "Married or widowed." Taylor shared her son's "mic drop" comment where instead of answering the question with one of the given titles, he simply wrote: "I think she is a Dr."

While many on the platform appreciated the child's response, several individuals wondered why children were even being taught these titles in 2022. The post called for more gender-neutral honorifics to be introduced in schools. In the comments section, many people joined the young boy's mom to praise his honesty. @jmc_read tweeted, "Why are these titles still accepted??? Men get Mr. for ALL men. Why does a woman's marital status/ age have to proceed our name??? These gotta go." @metaphorsalive questioned, "Why are they quizzing kids on this?! #dumbfounded" @Dirtynavychick2 commented, "I hate this! All men are Mr., but a woman is addressed based on her marital status? So out of date!" @msvugraduate joked, "The 50s called, they want their honorifics back."

According to Brides, Ms. is a neutral term used to describe any woman, regardless of marital status and came about in the 1970s with the women's rights movement. It's also used in a business setting where marital status isn't known. Meanwhile, Mrs. is a term that indicates that the person is married and "Miss" is used to address young unmarried women or girls under the age of 18. 

The now-viral tweet is an important reminder that women should be respected and acknowledged beyond their marital or relationship status. Young children should learn that a person's accomplishments, dreams and individuality are more important than titles. The fact that men are all referred to as only "Mr." highlights outdated gender practices and the patriarchal belief that all women are "fit for" marriage. More people are calling out this double standard and women are now refusing to let outdated concepts come back.