Gender-neutral title

A gender neutral title is an honorific title that does not indicate the gender of the person being formally addressed, such as in a letter or other communication, or when introducing the person to others. By comparison, the traditional honorifics of Miss, Mrs, Ms and Mr all indicate the binary gender of the individual.

The newer term "Mx" avoids specifying gender not only for persons who wish not to indicate a binary gender (male or female) but also for persons whose gender identity does not fit the gender binary. Honorifics are used in situations when it is inappropriate to refer to someone only by their first or last name, such as when addressing a letter "Dear Mx Jones" or when introducing the person to others. Activists, supporters and others are working toward awareness and acceptance of alternative honorifics including Mx.

Note that in Britain, honorifics are not ended with a period, while in the United States a period is used with the honorifics "Mr." and "Mrs." because they are abbreviations (for master and mistress), as well as with "Ms." in order to preserve the form.[1] "Miss" is not ended with a period because it is not an abbreviated form of a longer word. In Britain the periods are not included since where the period is placed there are no letters elided from the word.

Gender neutral titles

Mx

Mx is a title commonly used by non-binary people as well as those who do not identify with the gender binary,[2] which was first written about in the 1970s.[3][4] Nat Titman spoke about its usage and brought it into popular acceptance.[5] Among all other gender neutral titles, Mx is the most commonly used one,[6] and is accepted by government and other organisations throughout the UK.[7]

The "x" is intended to stand as a wildcard character, and does not imply a "mixed" gender.[5] "Mx" is usually pronounced "mix" or with a schwa, "məx".[8]

Misc

Misc or sometimes 'misk' is another gender title pronoun.[2] The word is derived from the Latin word miscellus, meaning “mixed,” following the rationale that a lot of non-binary people would say that they have aspects of various genders at various times.

In a 2016 international survey of non-binary participants, 0.8% of over 3,000 participants preferred the title Misc.[6]

Ind.

Ind, which stands for Individual, is a newly created gender neutral title. This title may be more appropriate for those who do not feel Mx meets their gender neutral standards, as Mx can sometimes be taken to stand for "mix". Ind was created to be free of gender, entirely, thus making it a better option for agender and gender nonconforming persons.

In a survey of over 3,000 nonbinary people in 2016, around 2.5% of nonbinary people used the title Ind.[6]

Professional titles

There are a number of titles, such as Dr and Professor, that are used regardless of gender by those qualified to use them. However, those professional titles being a legacy of the noninclusive past, Dx has been proposed as a title for doctors to denote a non-binary gender identity.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/11/what-are-mrs-and-ms-short-for/
  2. 1 2 "Beyond the Binary: Question Twenty-Three". Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Now pick Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms . . . or Mx for no specific gender". The Sunday Times. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Olivia Goldhill (11 May 2015). "What's it like to be a Mx?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 Nat Titman (28 August 2014). "When was the Mx gender-inclusive title created?". Practical Androgyny. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "NB/GQ Survey 2016 - the worldwide results". Nonbinary Stats. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  7. ↑ http://uktrans.info/attachments/article/249/mxevidencelowres.pdf
  8. ↑ "On the pronunciation of Mx". Nonbinary Stats. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
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