Tim Carmody, writing for Kottke.org:
“Mx.” (pronounced “mix” or “mux”) is a gender-neutral honorific. It’s used by people who don’t want to be identified by gender, whether their gender identity isn’t well-represented by the older forms, or they just don’t want to offer that information or assume it when addressing someone else. “Mx.” was added to Merriam Webster’s unabridged dictionary in April, has begun to be used on official forms in the UK (the Royal Bank of Scotland has been an early adopter), and appeared in two recent stories in the New York Times, once as a preferred honorific for a Barnard College student who doesn’t identify as male or female, and once in a story about “Mx.” itself.
This is fantastic, and personally gratifying. I’ve been writing for most of my life, and battling editors over this sort of thing since the very beginning. For me (and most writers, I think), the issue was the use of he or she when referring to “the user” or someone whose gender is not specified.
My approach was always to use “they” instead of he or she. My editors hated that. They’d red pencil all the theys and I’d dutifully put them all back in. Back and forth. Heated emails, then phone calls. But check my books. They. Not he or she.
Not that Mx. fixes that problem, but it does address a similar issue. And I say, bravx.
Nope. The left can take this kind of BS and go choke on it.
Oh, for the love of…
Works for me; language needs to change with a culture’s needs. I might’ve chosen a different letter than “x,” but I get it.
IMO, most of the people who’ll criticize this are narrow-minded tools who’d never need to worry about whether someone knowing their gender would limit their participation in anything.
Political correctness, one of the greatest barriers to the exchange of information.
Or the people who celebrate it are sanctimonious asses…
I’m not celebrating anything. This new term is no more about me than it’s likely to be about you. Nobody’s forcing you to use it, either.
Knee-jerk intolerance: holding back civilization for millennia.
Never mind
I agree with your first two grafs. I’m looking forward to seeing how institutions like the New York Times figure this out for themselves, if they choose to. Or if they can. Usage will vary, as it has with “Ms.”
As for the third, that’s always been a matter of whether the writer has the resources or interest in checking sources, no? If a publication cares enough about the issue, it’ll have standards to require that.
how strange that a gender neutral prefix would offend you so. it must suck living in a world where you can be offended so easily.
Your comment was pertinent and literate. Why delete it?
I don’t understand you. Do you mean a barrier to communication?
Indeed. Not five years ago, nearly everyone, even the present day sanctimonious asses, would have called this what it is: sheer lunacy and political correctness gone wild.
But now the asses act if if they’re the enlightened ones, and that they always have been.
I agree. But I don’t view this as a case of political correctness. To me it is just like the ‘san’ honorific in Japanese. There is no Mr. or Ms. or Mrs. or ma’am or sir etc. Ridding ourself of complicated, antiquated, unneeded bits of language is a good thing.
TRIGGER WARNING: Special snowflakes may have their feelings hurt by what follows. They can go and get (expletive).
So much energy has been wasted on thinking about this, but, evidently the Regressed Left doesn’t have anything better to do with it’s collective grey matter. Which is a shame.
Only the biological genders matter, Male and Female. It’s the norm, and is the only combination capable of perpetuation of the species. Everyone is either one or the other, not both and not some abstract thereof.
People that ‘identify’ as anything else are delusional, and perhaps even mentally ill, as they tend to operate on ‘feels’ and not on ‘fact’.
Yes, people can call themselves whatever they want, that’s fine, whatever works for them. Apparently there is a list of 57 different genders, someone probably wasted several hours of their life compiling it, holy crap, even sleep is more productive than that.
If having to tick a Mr/Mrs/Ms box on some paperwork, or identifying as any of those doesn’t fit, then don’t tick any of the boxes, or use any of those prefixes, but don’t invent stuff and then expect or demand the rest of society to conform, just so you feel better about yourself.
Geez.
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Gender isn’t biological, sex is.
Dear Mx. TWF:
the left is already tired of choking on the right’s bellowing pronouncements that are refuted by science and reality.
Sincerely,
MX. JimCracky
Or, they’re not.
nonsense. your insulting loaded language betrays you and any rational argument you may be trying to make.
Doubleplusgood for you.
Speaking of snowflakes, looks like someone’s very angry with having been asked to accept new information.
I think the comment above about the Japanese “San” honorific succinctly puts this post in the garbage can where it belongs.
I’d only add that language is all about invention. If it wasn’t, Shakespeare wouldn’t be a thing, and I wouldn’t have to put up with crappy words like “proactive.” No need to shake my cane and tell everyone to get off my linguistical lawn, though.
Gee, I wound up the special snowflakes.
GG fellows, GG
I know you are, but what am I? — Pee Wee Herman
When I first read this I thought “OK, that’s interesting” but I didn’t think anymore about it. To me it’s about old fashioned civility and asking people how they wish to be addressed.
If your given name is Francis but you want to be called Frankie then I will be happy to do that. If you wish to be referred to as Ms or Mr or Mx or none of the above the I will be happy to do that as well. And I know a lot of professional women would be happy to have the gender neutral or none of the above options.
And before you think that I’m some wild eyed liberal wing nut then you’ve go the wrong person. Married 30 years, 2.4 children, business guy kind of thing. I’m as white bread as it comes.
However, after reading some of the comments above I’m now enthusiastically in favour of Mx if for no other reason then it pisses off a lot of self righteous people.
I love when people make the argument that something is a waste of time after it’s been done. Surely the waste of time would be moving backwards.
I’m mostly in the same boat, though I have to admit I’ve disliked Mr/Mrs/Ms for years. For men, it just says “I am a man,” but for women there’s an entirely load of none-of-your-damn-business in just two or three letters.
So given the choice, I’ll start ticking myself off as Mx. Because it’s probably none of their damn business, and I’ll be damned if I give them any more data than I need to.
Hey, he gave you a trigger warning. You should have retreated to your safe space rather than getting so upset.