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Why are male officers referred to by their superiors as 'Mister [surname]' but female officers not as 'Miss/Mrs [surname]' in Star Trek?


It's quite noticeable in Star Trek TOS and TNG that superior officers tend to call officers of lower ranks 'Mister': for example, Kirk would regularly refer to his officers as 'Mister Sulu' or 'Mister Scott'. Picard often refers to his officers in a similar way (e.g. 'Mr LaForge' or 'Mr Worf'). This isn't limited just to captains, but to higher-ranking officers generally; even Riker has referred to Worf as 'Mister Worf' on several occasions I seem to recall. Yet, when referring to female officers, they are typically addressed either by their first name (informally) or, more formally in the format [Rank] [surname] e.g. 'Lieutenant Uhura'. I'm just wondering whether there is any reason (in or out of universe) why male officers are referred to as 'mister [surname]' regularly but female officers aren't referred to as 'miss/mrs [surname]'.



Answer




Memory Alpha has an article detailing occasions in various series (including ST:TOS and ST:TNG) and movies (notably Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan) where men and women are addressed as "Mister," including in and out of Starfleet. The term "Mister" could be used to denote respect, when coupled with the addressee's given name, or disrespect when used without a name.


Notable women Starfleet personnel addressed as such include "Mr. Saavik" (Wrath of Khan), "Mr. Martine" (ST:TOS "Balance of Terror").


Starfleet Captains are generally not addressed as "Mister," although subordinates may otherwise be so addressed on board a Starfleet vessel. As an example of non-Starfleet uses of the term of address include the Federation President, who is addressed as "Mister President" in Star Trek: The Voyage Home.


Compare with Starfleet regulations designating superior officers be addressed as "Sir" regardless of gender (e.g. in ST:TNG, "The First Duty" Wesley Crusher addresses femal Rear Admiral Brand as "Sir"; in ST:VOY, "Caretaker" Captain Janeway expresses dislike for being addressed as "Sir" (among other things) and prefers "Captain").


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