Ms or Ms.

Why are we back on Ms or Ms. ?

The terminology has moved on.

It's Mx or Mx. now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mx_(title)

http://time.com/4106718/what-mx-means/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/31/neither-mr-mrs-or-ms-but-mx

Call me Mx. Maybe.

2 Replies

@MontereyJack,

Quote Monterey Jack:

Quote:

If they talk about "full stops"they won't put one after "Ms",

Wikipedia says this:

Quote:

Ms., a default form of address for women regardless of their marital status

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@ehBeth,

But what if you aren't looking for a gender neutral honorific?

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

Quote ehBeth:

Quote:

The terminology has moved on.

It's Mx or Mx. now.

That seems to be a British innovation. Surprised they didn't make it "Mux" considering the British penchant for putting unnecessary "u"s in words like "color" and "honor". Very Happy

1 Reply

@roger,

Then you skip the whole passe idea.

Bob Smith. Good enough.

0 Replies

@Blickers,

I've generally heard it pronounced as Mux.

I'm starting to like it. It's similar to the choice you have to go gender-free on birth certificates/ driver's licences and the like in some Canadian jurisdictions. There's a bunch of stuff that just isn't anyone's business.

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@ehBeth,

I had never heard and before.

I quite like it.

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What's the purpose of having a gender-neutral title? I thought the whole purpose of a title was to denote gender-Mr. or Mrs./Miss/Ms. . If we're not going to go by marital status or sex, why have these titles at all? Just call ourselves our name.

2 Replies

@Blickers,

Makes sense to me

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@Blickers,

Not just gender-neutral - it also replaces things like Dr. and Rev.

The target for a lot of people is to get away from honorifics entirely - to just use names. Like Ms, Mx is a step in that direction. We don't need descriptors of who we are by gender/position. The world is catching up - slowwwwwwwly.

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

I like the custom of using some form of honorific, even if it's neutral.
I see it as an acknowledgement of personhood. A directed namaste if you will.

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Well, if we're going to develop an honorific that everyone has, then I say let the French, Italians or Spanish do it. They're the ones who come out with nice sounding titles like Monsieur or Doña. I don't think I could handle calling everybody Mx, (pronounced "Mux") for long. It sounds like everyone in the world fell into a slop barrel and is cleaning themselves off.

2 Replies

@Blickers,

Blickers wrote:

Well, if we're going to develop an honorific that everyone has

I don't know if the rest of the English speaking world is like Britain, but here honorifics are much less used than when I was a kid. When I was growing up, adults outside the family were all Mr, Mrs, Miss, including when I started work around 1970. College lecturers were usually Mr/Mrs/Miss although some of the cool ones encouraged first names. Exceptions were people around one's own age. Now at work, everyone from the janitor to the CEO is known, and addressed by their first name. Outside work it's the same. The only occasion for an honorific is when addressing an envelope or in the salutation which starts a business letter.

1 Reply

@Blickers,

Blickers wrote:

Well, if we're going to develop an honorific that everyone has, then I say let the French, Italians or Spanish do it. They're the ones who come out with nice sounding titles like Monsieur or Doña. I don't think I could handle calling everybody Mx, (pronounced "Mux") for long. It sounds like everyone in the world fell into a slop barrel and is cleaning themselves off.

Well, that's ok except that I think French is a particularly annoying sounding language to my ear. However, I as an individual won't much say in what developes in launguage. See? It's complicated.

Some people wouldn't want Mx, some wouldn't want a word that comes from any already established language, some won't see the use of it at all, or want another word.

1 Reply

@chai2,

chai2 wrote:

I think French is a particularly annoying sounding language to my ear.

I find it exceptionally beautiful - to hear, to speak, to read, to write.

1 Reply

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

The only occasion for an honorific is when addressing an envelope or in the salutation which starts a business letter.

which is IMNSHO why Mx is so handy. covers all people, all occasions.

0 Replies

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

chai2 wrote:
I think French is a particularly annoying sounding language to my ear.

I find it exceptionally beautiful - to hear, to speak, to read, to write.

Not saying it isn't to many/most people. I was making the point that it isn't as easy as someone saying they we "should" use something from one particular language or another because of personal preference.

If a neutral honorific is being sought, perhaps it would be a good idea if it sounds neutral.

0 Replies

@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

I've generally heard it pronounced as Mux.

Does it rhyme with "looks," "mooks" or "f*cks?"

0 Replies

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