A gender neutral title is a title that does not indicate the

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...

, whatever it may be, of the person being formally addressed. 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, or when introducing the person to others. Although varying between cultures, the use of such titles include: * Persons who wish not to indicate a gender (binary or otherwise) * Persons for whom the gender is not known * Persons whose biological sex is not on the gender binary (

intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...

) * Persons whose gender identity does not fit the gender binary

Languages

Global overview

Some languages have near complete or vigorous use of gender-neutral titles in their most common forms, which in some languages may be more than one of their forms.

European languages

The traditional

honorifics An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

Miss Miss (pronounced ) is an English-language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as " Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century ...

Mrs MRS, Mrs, or mrs may refer to: Acronyms * ICAO code for Air Marshall Islands, an airline based in Majuro, Marshall Islands * Magnetic resonance spectroscopy * Mammography reporting software, used to manage data related to radiologist interpretat ...

, Ms and Mr in English all indicate the binary gender of the individual. Frauenknecht et al. at die Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt published a 2021 study in the '' Journal for EuroLinguistiX'' which rated 10 current human languages for only 10 job titles regarding "Gender-Inclusive Job Titles", since job titles can in most languages be used directly as titles for individuals or groups using various grammatical methods by language. Compared were Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Slovenian, Italian, Spanish, UK English, French, German and Hungarian in order of tabling. This team found using several rank analysis systems that the trio of Swedish, Finnish and Hungarian had gender-neutral titles for all 10 jobs, UK English was close, then Russian. None of this sample of European languages fell in middle ratings. German, Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, French) and as well as Slovenian scored very low.

Japan

, sometimes pronounced in Kansai dialect, is the most common honorific and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. Although the closest analog in English are the honorifics "Mr", "Miss", "Ms" or "Mrs", ''-san'' is almost universally added to a person's name; ''-san'' can be used in formal and informal contexts, regardless of the person's gender.

Thailand

''Khun'' () is a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

, pronounced with a middle tone, in the

Thai language Thai,In or Central Thai (historically Siamese;Although "Thai" and "Central Thai" have become more common, the older term, "Siamese", is still used by linguists, especially when it is being distinguished from other Tai languages (Diller 2008:6 ...

used informally to courteously address someone irrespective of gender.

English language

History

Origins

"Mx" was first used in print in 1977, and it is unknown whether there was spoken usage before that. There is some confusion surrounding when Mx became a common way for persons to prefer to be addressed; however, there have been numerous cases of Mx in print from 1977 up until the early 2000s, when usage became more popular. The

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an list of companies of the United States by state, American company that publishes reference work, reference books and is mostly known for Webster's Dictionary, its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary pub ...

English dictionaries added Mx in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Titles in use or proposed for common use

Ind stands for individual. M is the first letter of most gendered titles, both masculine and feminine. The title "M" simply removes the following letters that would designate gender. Misc stands for miscellaneous. Mre is short for the word "mystery". Msr is a combination of "Miss", a feminine title, and "Sir", which is typically masculine. Mx is a title commonly used by

non-binary people Non-binary or genderqueer gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is differ ...

as well as those who do not identify with the gender binary, and first appeared in print in the 1970s. The "x" is intended to stand as a wildcard character, and does not imply a "mixed" gender. Pronunciation of "Mx" is not yet standardized; it is frequently pronounced "mix" but sometimes with a schwa as "məx", or even as "em-ex". Mt can stand for either Mistrum or Mont. Mistrum is the result of removing the "er" from mister and the "ress" from mistress. The Latin neutral form of "tor" and "trix", is "trum". Mont is a nature-oriented choice. It can be a reference to the root of the origin word for Mr/Ms, which is Magis. Magis means great or high. Mg stands for Magis. Related to Magister, an origin word for Mr/Ms. Pr is short for the word "person", pronounced "per".

Professional and military titles

In many cases, gender-non-conforming individuals have used professional titles such as Captain, Doctor, or Coach to avoid gendered titles. This practice is seen in the media, frequently in the case of women attempting to avoid the discrimination associated with femininity in professional settings. Dr, referring to one who has obtained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

, MD, or other doctorate-level degree. Some non-binary people who have achieved such schooling prefer to use this title as it does not inherently indicate any one gender.

Trans in the US

Activists, supporters and groups such as the Trans Educators Network, The Trevor Project, and

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

are working toward awareness and acceptance of alternative honorifics, including Mx.

References

{{Social titles Gender-neutral language Honorifics