A gender neutral title is a title that does not indicate the gender identity, 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. By comparison, the traditional honorifics of

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, i ...

Mrs Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard English pronunciation: ) is a commonly used English honorific for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title (or rank), such as ''Doctor'', ''Profe ...

, Ms and Mr all indicate the

binary gender The gender binary (also known as gender binarism) is the classification of gender into two distinct, opposite forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary ...

of the individual. These titles are used to avoid specifying gender for: * 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) * persons whose

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 ...

does not fit the

gender binary The gender binary (also known as gender binarism) is the classification of gender into two distinct, opposite forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary ...

Activists, supporters and groups such as the Trans Educators Network,

The Trevor Project The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. Focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning ( LGBTQ) youth, they offer a toll-free telephone number ...

, and

GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayal ...

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

Gender neutral titles

Mx

Mx is a title commonly used by

non-binary people Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typical ...

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 In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English and some other languages, it rep ...

as "məx", or even as "em-ex".

Ind.

Ind, which stands for individual.

M

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

Misc, which stands for miscellaneous.

Other titles

Dr, referring to one who has obtained a PhD, MD, or other doctorate-level degree. While not available for all, many non-binary people who have achieved such schooling prefer to use this title as it does not inherently indicate any one gender. Mre, short for the word "mystery". Msr, a combination of "Miss", a feminine title, and "Sir", which is typically masculine. Pr, short for the word "person", pronounced "per".

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 2000's, when usage became more popular. The Oxford and Merriam-Webster English Dictionaries added Mx in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Professional/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.

References

{{Social titles Gender-neutral language Honorifics